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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. \ 
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% [SMIIHSONIAK DEPOSIT.] ^ 

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I UNITED STATES OF AMEH0A.J 



PASTORAL THEOLOGY; 



OR, 



THE THEORY OF THE EVANGELICAL MINISTRY, 



By A. VINET. 



TRANSLATED AND EDITED 



By THOMAS H.* SKINNER, D. D., 

PROFESSOR OF PASTORAL THEOLOGY IN THE UNION THEOLOGICAL 
SEMINARY OF NEW YORK. 



WITH NOTES, AND AN ADDITIONAL CHAPTER, BY THE TRANSLATOR, 



NEW YORK: 






^\A\ 



V£? 



.# 



HARPER * BROTHERS, PUBLISHER 

3 2 9 & 331 PEARL STREET, 
FRANKLIN SQUARE. 

1853. 



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Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand 
eight hundred and fifty- three, by 

Harper & Brothers, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District 
of New York. 



ot Congress 

WASHINGTON 



Let not thy heart be hasty to utter any thing before God ; for God 
is in heaven, and thou upon earth. — Ecclesiastes, v., 2. 

Quand on ne serait pendant sa vie que l'apotre d'un seul homme, 
ee ne serait pas etre en vain sur la terre un fardeau inutile. — La Bru- 
yere. 



PREFACE 

BY THE TRANSLATOR. 



We began to read this work for our own advant- 
age ; but soon received an impression of its excellence, 
which led us to wish that it might have the free cir- 
culation which a faithful translation and an American 
edition would secure to it. A further acquaintance 
with it deepened this impression, until at length this 
translation became almost a natural result. 

The work of translation is generally thought to be 
irksome ; but, in the present case, the communion 
which it has occasioned with the beautiful, earnest, 
and holy spirit of the author, has changed labor into 
the highest pleasure. The minute attention which 
must be given to every sentence and word in translat- 
ing has this advantage, that it obliges us to perceive 
every delicate shade of thought and feeling which the 
author expresses ; and as there have been very few as 
pure, as discriminating, as imaginative, as spiritual 
minds as that of M. Vinet, it could not but be that in 
a treatise on a subject which he had so thoroughly 
studied, and which was so congenial to his character 



Vi PREFACE. 

and temperament, there should be found a rich, varied, 
and full exhibition of sentiment and feeling : Adding 
to this the intrinsic excellence of the subject itself, 
Pastoral Theology, whose sphere is that which was 
filled by the Chief Shepherd and Bishop of souls, it 
afforded a fund of enjoyment and profit, to which it 
was truly an unusual privilege to have such familiar 
and intimate access. 

M. Vinet, among the gifted men of his times, was in 
the first rank. The editor of his " Etudes sur Blaise 
Pascal," we think, with no more than justice, classes 
him, in the most important respects, with that great 
man. " The general direction of his labors, the na- 
ture of his mind and temperament, gave him ready 
access to this noble and astonishing genius. A pen- 
etrating analysis of the human soul, a strong attach- 
ment of heart to truth and an imperious demand for 
evidence, a natural melancholy, an inclination to seri- 
ous irony, a strict and sometimes transcendent dialect- 
ic, passion in reason, a comprehensive and powerful im- 
agination — these traits are common to the author of 
Discours sur quelques Sujets Religieux and the au- 
thor of the Pensees. We may say, making due allow- 
ance for circumstances, that Pascal and Yinet resem- 
bled each other. Pascal, moreover, inspired the Prot- 
estant apologist of the nineteenth century, and served 
as his model. If natural affinity, sympathy, and inter- 
est are of any aid to the understanding, M. Yinet as- 



PREFACE. Vll 

suredly ought to comprehend Pascal. It was this, per- 
haps, which led an eminent critic, M. Sainte-Beuve, to 
say : ' If we should collect into one small volume the 
articles of M. Yinet on Pascal, we should have, I think, 
the most exact results to which we can arrive on this 
great controversy.' " # 

The work before us is worthy of its author. It was 
not prepared for the press by M. Vinet, but the subject 
had received his closest attention, protracted through a 
series of years ; and though it is substantially composed 
of notes, which served as a basis of instruction in the 
Academy of Lausanne, yet these notes were carefully 
prepared by the author, and, of course, embodied his 
best and strongest thoughts. M. Vinet's own manu- 
scripts were sometimes complemented from the note- 
books of his pupils ; but these insertions, which, in 
the French publication, are included in brackets, and 
which, in a volume of four hundred pages, amount to 
about thirty, have* the full force and vigor of the au- 
thor's mind, and are quite equal in excellence to the 
other parts of his work. The slight imperfections of 
form, arising from the causes indicated by the French 
editors, do not impair the value of this book : After re- 
moving the brackets, as we have done in this transla- 
tion, they will probably not be observed. 

The work is distinguished by the following great ex- 
cellences : by comprehensiveness and fullness of plan, 

* Etudes sur Blaise Pascal, par A. Vinet, p. vii. 



V1U PREFACE. 



embracing all parts of the subject in just proportion ; 
by a deeply philosophical vein of teaching under the 
guise of the most beautiful simplicity ; by thorough, 
various, and extensive learning; by a pre-eminently 
pure and holy spirit, which often subdues and pene- 
trates the reader's heart, and leads him to look within 
himself with the profoundest self-scrutiny ; and, when- 
ever the subject permits it, by a peculiarly elevated, 
eloquent, and charming diction. 

If we were to distinguish between the merits of the 
different parts of this work, we should assign the high- 
est place to the third part, especially chapter second, 
which treats of the care of souls as applied to individ- 
uals ; where we can not but think that this spiritual 
and faithful man has transcended all who have pre- 
ceded him. x\s an example of the earnestness and ten- 
derness of his manner in this part, we insert here a pas- 
sage which refers to the case of a pastor at the bedside 
of a dying man who is not prepared £pr death-: " There 
are, it is said, souls who perceive with despair that the 
principle of the spiritual life is extinguished within 
them, and who with terrible evidence are convinced 
that there remains nothing in them that can love or 
pray : Faith comes to them at the last moment, but it 
is the faith of demons, resplendent with brightness, but 
it is the brightness of lightning, (rod only can know, 
indeed, that this soul is dead : As for you who do not 
know, struggle, pant with it, fight its battle, unite 



PREFACE. 3% 

with it in its agony ; let it perceive that there is by 
its side, in its last anguish, a soul that believes, that 
hopes, and that loves ; that your love is but a reflection 
of the love of Christ; and that Christ, through you, has 
become present to it : Give it a hint, a glimpse, a taste 
of the Divine mercy ; let it be, as it were, forced to be- 
lieve in it by seeing the reflection of it in you : Hope 
against hope : Wrestle with God to the last moment : 
Let the voice of your prayer, the echo of the words of 
Christ, resound in the dying man's ear, even in his 
dreams : You do not know what may be passing in 
that interior world into which your views do not pene- 
trate ; nor by what mystery eternity may hang on one 
minute, and salvation on one sigh. You do not know 
what may avail — what one ejaculation of a soul toward 
God may embrace at the last bound of earthly exist- 
ence. Then do not cease : pray aloud with the dying 
man ; pray for him with a low voice : Be a priest when 
you can no longer be a preacher. Let the office of in- 
tercession, the most efficacious of all, precede, accom- 
pany, follow all others." 

But while we can not but regard the third part with 
peculiar interest, we have been compelled to think that 
there is an omission here which should not be passed 
over without notice ; and, with the hope of increasing 
the usefulness of the book in our own country, we have 
endeavored to supply it by adding a chapter of our own. 

Our author has distinctly stated (page 242) the prin- 
A2 



PREFACE. 



oiple which guided us in this chapter, a principle which 
admits of many applications ; but the subject we have 
here considered seemed to us, from its great import- 
ance, entitled to peculiar attention. 

It is scarcely necessary to say that, in editing this 
work, we do not hold ourselves answerable for every 
opinion of the author : On two points, of much import- 
ance, we have thought proper to indicate some differ- 
ence of judgment from him, in notes which will be 
found in the Appendix. 

In the work of translation we have had occasion, 
more than once, to lament the impossibility of retain- 
ing in English the exceedingly naive and touching 
manner of the author ; but we have endeavored, in ev- 
ery case, to report faithfully the views and movements 
of his uncommon mind. We have studied exactness 
in giving his meaning rather than rigid conformity to 
his manner ; although we have endeavored to deviate 
from this no further than was necessary in order to ren- 
der his meaning into good English. 

We concur with the French editors in hoping that 
this book will be read not only by ministers of the Gos- 
pel, but by the religious community generally : Better 
than any work we know of, it is adapted to impart 
profound and just impressions of the pastoral office, in 
which all the interests of humanity are so deeply in- 
volved. 



CONTENTS. 



Page 

Advertisement of the Editors ............. xvii 



INTRODUCTION. 

§ I. Definition of the Subject. What is a Minister of the 

Gospel 1 Ideal of a Minister. . 21 

§ II. Necessity of the Evangelical Ministry. 38 

§ III. Institution of the Evangelical Ministry 41 

§ IV. Is the Ministry an Order in the Church 1 45 

§ V. Excellence of the Evangelical Ministry 52 

$ VI. Difficulties and Advantages of the Evangelical Ministry. 57 

$ VII. Call to the Evangelical Ministry 71 



PART FIRST. 

INDIVIDUAL AND INTERNAL LIFE. 

General Principle 109 

Renewal of Call 1 10 

Particular Rules „ Ill 

Solitude ........ 113 

Prayer 115 

Study in general, and of the Bible in particular 116 

Economy of Time 124 

Ascetisme 126 



Xll CONTENTS. 

PART SECOND. 

RELATIVE OR SOCIAL LIFE. 

CHAPTER I. 

SOCIAL LIFE IN GENERAL. 

Page 

$1. Gravity 131 

In Manners in general 133 

In Discourse in particular 134 

$ II. Simplicity, Modesty 138 

$ III. Pacific Spirit 138 

$ IV. Gentleness 140 

§ V. Loyalty, Rectitude, Candor 141 

§ VI. Disinterestedness .- 143 

$ VII. The Minister in Relation to the general Interests of So- 
ciety 151 

CHAPTER II. 

DOMESTIC LIFE OF A MINISTER. 

$ I. General Reflections — Marriage and Celibacy — A Pastor's 

Wife 15G 

$ II. Government of the Family 161 

$ III. House and Household Economy of a Pastor 163 



PART THIRD. 

PASTORAL LIFE. 

Preliminary Reflections on the Choice of a Parish, and on 
Changes . . 169 

SECTION FIRST. 

WORSHIP. 

Of "Worship in general. ..... 178 

Catholic Worship. 180 

Protestant Worship 180 



CONTENTS. X113 

Page 

Worship of the primitive Church 181 

Characteristics of public Worship . . ......---..-., 183 

Costume .................. 185 

Celebration of Rites..... .................................. 186 

The Lord's Supper 187 

Baptism 187 

Singing 188 

Funerals 188 

SECTION SECOND. 

INSTRUCTION, 
CHAPTER I. 

PREACHING. 

§ I. Importance of Preaching among the Functions of the 

Ministry ■. 189 

§ II. Principles or Maxims which should be held as to Preach- 
ing .......... 192 

§ III. Object of Preaching 202 

$ IV. Unity of Preaching 203 

§ V. Different Classes united in the same Auditory 204 

§ VI. Popularity, Familiarity, Authority, Unction ........ 207 

<$> VII. Form of Preaching 215 

§ VIII. Festival and occasional Sermons 218 

$ IX. Several Questions relative to P reaching 219 

Length of a Sermon ......... 219 

Repetition of Sermons 220 

Substitutes 221 

Duties before and after Preaching 221 

A Preacher should know what is thought of his Preaching 222 

On the immediate Impression of the Sermon 223 

On the Fruits of Preaching 224 

Success of Opinion 226 






XIV CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER II. 

CATECHISING. 

Page 

4 I. Its Importance and its Object . . . . = „ 229 

§ II. General characteristics of Catechising — Source and Meth- 
od of religious Instruction 230 

§ III. Advice to the Catechist. 232 

SECTION THIRD. 

CARE OF SOULS, OR PASTORAL OVERSIGHT. 

CHAPTER I. 

OF THE CARE OF SOULS IN GENERAL. 

4 I. Its Relations to Preaching. Foundations of the Duty of 

the Care of Souls 236 

4 II. Objections against the Exercise of this Function 239 

<> III. Conditions or Qualities required for the Exercise of the 

Care of Souls 241 

$ IV. Triple Object of pastoral Oversight 243 

$ V. The School 246 

§ VL Relations to Families ; Pastoral Visits 247 

CHAPTER It 

OF THE CARE OF SOULS APPLIED TO INDIVIDUALS. 

4 I. Introduction — Division of the Subject. 251 

$-11. Internal Situation 253 

1. Persons decidedly Pious 253 

2. New Converts 258 

3. The Awakened 258 

4. Souls in Trouble 259 

5. The Orthodox 261 

6. Skeptics 264 

7. The Indifferent 265 

8. Unbelievers 266 

9. Rationalists 268 

10. Stoics = 268 



CONTENTS. XV 

Page 

Reprehension and Direction 269 

General Advice relating to the Conduct of Souls 272 

$ III. External Situation. . ................................. 274 

1. The Sick...... 275 

False Security in the Sick 282 

The Sick, troubled, despairing 283 

General Directions 288 

Families in Affliction 291 

2. The diseased in Mind 293 

3. Persons divided. 295 

4. The Poor ..:...-.... 297 

CHAPTER III. 
On the Care of Souls in Times of special Declension and special 
Interest in Religion (by the Translator) 301 



PART FOURTH. 

ADMINISTRATIVE OR OFFICIAL LIFE. 



CHAPTER I. 
discipline 330 

CHAPTER II. 

CONDUCT TOWARD DIFFERENT RELIGIOUS PARTIES ... 332 

CHAPTER III. 

RELATIONS OF ECCLESIASTICS AMONG THEMSELVES 335 

CHAPTER IV. 

THE PASTOR IN HIS RELATIONS TO AUTHORITIES 339 



XVI CONTENTS. 



APPENDIX. 

Page 

Note A. On the Nature of the Office of Priest (Chrysostom)... 343 

Note B. The Mystery of Preaching (Saint Cyran) „ 344 

Note C. On the speedy Assumption of the personal Authority 

of the Priest (Schwarz) . 345 

Note D. First Appearances of a Tendency to form Pastors into 

a Caste (Neander). 346 

Note E. Of the universal Priesthood of the Christian Church 

(Neander) 351 

Note F. On the Dignity of the Ministry (Erasmus) 351 

Note G. Of Prayer (Bacon, Kepler, De Thou, Massillon) 353 

Note H. Has the Sabbath been abolished 1 (Translator) 356 

Note I. On Liturgies (Translator) 362 

Note K. On the Use of the Catechism. From an Article by M. 

Vinet 368 

Note L. Thoughts of Bengel upon the Exercise of the Ministry, 

translated by M. Vinet 369 



ADVERTISEMENT OF THE EDITORS, 



The volume which we give to the public was not 
prepared for the press by M. Vinet. It is composed 
essentially of notes which served as the basis of a 
course intended for the students of the Academy of 
Lausanne. These notes, most frequently written out 
with much care, often have the character of a simple 
sketch, which the professor proposed to complete in his 
lectures. Hence some imperfections of form, which 
would certainly have disappeared if the author had put 
his own finishing hand to his work. We have, how- 
ever, thought it our duty to publish it such as w e found 
it, without permitting ourselves to refashion it, in any 
of its parts, except that as we had, on certain portions 
of the course, more than one original manuscript, it 
often happened that we were obliged to complete some 
from others. Moreover, when it seemed to us neces- 
sary to illustrate or complete the thought of the author, 
we have inserted amplifications taken from the note- 
books of the hearers of M. Yinet. These extracts 
might have been multiplied, but we have confined our- 
selves to what was strictly necessary, and all the in- 
sertions of this kind have been placed between brack- 
ets,* that they might not escape the reader's attention. 
M. Vinet himself has translated many passages, taken 
* These are omitted in the translation. 



XV11I ADVERTISEMENT OP THE EDITORS. 

from ancient or foreign authors, which will be found 
in the course of the work. Those which were quoted 
in the original language we have rendered into French. 

The Appendix at the end of the volume contains 
principally passages from authors to which M. Vinet 
simply refers, but which appear to have been read in 
his lectures, and which serve to illustrate his thought. 
Many of these have been fully transcribed by himself 
in his note-books. They appear, at the same time, too 
extended to be inserted in the course, and too necessary 
to be merely referred to. The Thoughts of Beng-el, 
which will be also found in the Appendix, were trans- 
lated from the Grerman by M. Vinet, and published 
apart in a small pamphlet in 16mo. 

There are here and there allusions to the National 
Church of the Canton de Vaud. It should be remem- 
bered that the greater part of the hearers of M. Vi- 
net were to exercise the evangelical ministry in that 
church, with which he did not cease to be connected, 
so far as the worship was concerned, up to the moment 
when a free church was established in the Canton de 
Vaud, in consequence of the secession of a great num- 
ber of pastors. 

We hope that the course of Pastoral Theology will 
be well received, not only by ministers of the Grospei 
and students of theology, for whom it is more espe- 
cially designed, but by the religious public in general. 
The fundamental idea of M. Vinet recommends his 
book to the serious attention of all the friends of the 
G-ospel. The pastor is not, in his view, an isolated 
being, far removed from the community of Christians 
into the desert of a solitary dignity, to which ordinary 



. ADVERTISEMENT OF THE EDITORS. XIX 

believers must not aspire. He conceives of him as less 
above them than as at their head, and in the advance 
in the work of charity. Neither are his labors exclu- 
sive ; on the contrary, all should associate themselves 
actively with him, and will do so according to the meas- 
are of their fidelity. The pastor is not essentially dif- 
ferent from a Christian — he is the representative Chris- 
tian — the model of the flock (1 Tim., iv., 12). All 
Christians will find in this book valuable lessons, which 
they should treasure up. If they receive it as we dare 
to hope, we shall soon publish also Homiletics, or, the 
Theory of Preaching, of which we likewise possess 
the manuscript. 



PASTORAL THEOLOGY. 



INTRODUCTION. 



$ 1. Definition of the Subject. What is a' Minister of the 
Gospel ? Ideal of a Minister. 

We have elsewhere defined Practical Theology. It is art 
which supposes science, or science resolving itself into art. 
It is the art of applying usefully, in the ministry, the knowl- 
edge acquired in the three other departments of theology, 
which are purely scientific. It appears, then, that we may 
very conveniently call Pastoral Theology that collection of 
rules or directions to which we have given the name of Prac- 
tical Theology. But, although the idea of the pastor (Seel- 
sorger*) and of the pastorate controls and comprehends all 
the parts of Practical Theology, yet it may be abstracted and 
considered by itself as a moral element pervading each part 
of Practical Theology, but which, also, distinct from the cat- 
echetical and homiletical departments,! forms one of its own, 
an object of special study. Pastoral Theology, then, would 

* One of the designations of a pastor in Germany ; literally, he 
who has the care of the soul. 

t We might add liturgical ; but the small space we can give to this 
part induces us to include it in our course of Pastoral Theology, or 
Prudence. As to ecclesiastical law, the study of which may compre- 
hend that of the different ecclesiastical legislations or constitutions, 
and which is in this sense a science, it becomes an art, and, conse- 
quently, a part of Practical Theology, in so far as it practically directs 
the pastor in the observance and execution of the ecclesiastical laws 
of his own denomination. What little we shall say of it will be found 
in its proper place in this course. 



22 UNITY OF THE MINISTRY. 

treat of all the duties, all the kinds of activity to which the 
pastor is called, except public preaching and catechising. 

The expressions duties of the pastor and pastoral pru- 
dence are incomplete. They present the thing too much un- 
der the point of view of an art or a practice. But this point of 
view should not be exclusive. The speculative side should 
have its place. Action is the last end of speculation ; but, 
whatever may be the nature of the action, it is not sufficiently 
provided for, if attention be confined to it in the practical point 
of view. It should be studied abstractly. We should study 
the theory of the evangelical ministry, not only to know what 
we have to do, but also as an objective fact, which simply, as 
such, demands our acquaintance. Abstract speculation is of 
high utility. He who regards the things of his profession 
only in the midst of action, will act neither with freedom, nor 
with intelligence, nor with depth. Hence, among other rea- 
sons, this course is called the Theory of the Evangelical 
Ministry. 

Perhaps our distribution is not exactly right. Catechetics, 
homiletics, etc., are not, perhaps, different in substance from 
Pastoral Theology. Still, on account of the extent of these 
divisions, of the detail which they require, and of the dispro- 
portioned space they would necessarily occupy if they should 
be treated in all their breadth in a course of Pastoral Theol- 
ogy, we separate them, intending to pursue the study of them 
when we shall be more at leisure. We are far from suppos- 
ing that the chief one of these categories represents a whole, 
or even a reality : the reality exists only in the assemblage 
of the three functions, Worship, Preaching, and Catechising. 
By the very idea of a minister, these all belong to him. He 
would not otherwise be a minister. Not that these functions 
may not be distinguished and even separated — but they never 
should be after an exclusive manner ; that is to say, in such 
a manner that he who exercises one is not to exercise the 
others ; for they mutually suppose and contain one another. 



PRIMITIVE DIVISION OF THE MINISTRY. 23 

Nevertheless, the idea of this unity lias its date ; it is a 
Christian idea. All religions have not conceived nor real- 
ized it. 

In the Old Testament the office of priest and of prophet 
formed two distinct offices. It accords with the Old Testa- 
ment to distinguish, as it does with the New to blend these 
two. The two systems are characterized by these two facts. 
Perfect unity between the form and the idea did not yet ex- 
ist, and could not enter except with the law of spirituality 
and of liberty. On one side and the other, as on two dis- 
tinct planes, were represented the letter which kills, and the 
spirit which gives life. The economy which was to unite 
them in one whole, was also to unite in one and the same 
man the priest and the prophet. 

On this point the primitive Church presents us a phenom- 
enon analogous to the whole genius of its economy, which did 
not rudely repudiate all the traditions of the theocracy. It 
divides the ministry into many different ministries. It does 
not appear that all ministers did the same things, nor that 
all did all things. It would seem, from Ephesians, iv., 11, 
and 1 Corinthians, xii., 28, 30, that this division of labor^ had 
been formally instituted by the supreme Head of the Church ; 
but whether this was so, or whether we ought to regard it 
only as a providential dispensation — whether the distribution 
of extraordinary gifts (xapiO[iara) explains the thing to us, 
there is no evidence that this distinction, of which besides 
it is very difficult to form a just idea, ought to be maintain- 
ed as an immutable institution. At any rate, to renew 

* It does not appear that this division of labor was of an exclusive 
character. We see (Acts, vi., 10) that Stephen, the deacon (verse 3), 
was a preacher or a prophet. The rite and the word are separated 
by St. Paul (1 Cor., i., 17) : " Christ sent me not to baptize." Besides, 
this is not a question of rite. Either it is altogether apart from reli- 
gion, which can not be admitted, or it does not exclusively belong to 
one of these classes of officers. This, however, is not saying that all 
may celebrate it. 



24 OFFICE OF PASTOR. 

it, it is neeessarv to renew the x a P ia t iaTa > " tfte spiritual 
gifts." 

It is very manifest that they regarded as ministers of the 
Church men whose qualifications did not fit them for minis- 
ters, according to the sense which we now attach to the word . 
There were deacons, appointed to serve tables ; there were 
presbyters (whence comes the word, not the idea, of priest), 
who did not teach ; but it is clear, from 1 Tim., v., 17,* that 
those among them who taught w r ere of the first rank, were 
reputed the first, since the word is the grand instrument, and 
the essential character of the evangelical dispensation ; and 
it is, in fact, to this class of presbyters that the title of min- 
ister or pastor has, in the end, been exclusively attributed ; 
and this class has absorbed in itself all the other classes, so 
as to constitute in itself alone the ministry of the Christian 
Church. 

The evangelical ministry is essentially a ministry of the 
word ; all the other ministries are in the service of that one ; 
they are so many ways of speaking the Word of God. Chris- 
tianity is a word, a thought of God, which is destined to be- 
come a thought of man. Now thought and speech are insep- 
arable ; thought is an interior speech, and in the ancient 
languages the same word signifies the two things (Aoyoc). 
That great revolution, which we call the advent of Christ 
and of the Gospel, has not rejected worship and symbol, but 
has spiritualized it, has approximated it to thought, and thus 
even to speech. The minister is a man who speaks the word 
of God ; he does not recite it. The priest was a slave, but 
the minister has free intercourse -with God. And as, since 
the unhappy and forced exclusion of the laity, there are, for 
example, no more ministers of alms, of science, etc., the min- 
ister combines in himself all these offices, because he is the 
minister par excellence. 

* " Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double hon 
or, especially they wbo labor in word and doctrine." 



CATHOLIC IDEA. 25 

The minister, in this way the inheritor of all the diverse 
ministries of the Church, has taken, in the plenitude of his 
qualifications and of his activity, the name of pastor. It is 
remarkable that this name, of all others, is the most rarely 
applied to the minister in the New Testament. 

What is a pastor ? 

His name tells us : he feeds ; he nourishes souls with a 
word which is not his own (as the shepherd nourishes his 
sheep on grass which he does not make to grow). But he 
feeds them by means of his own word, which reproduces and 
appropriates to their various wants the Divine Word, and be- 
comes, in turn, a word of instruction, of direction, of exhorta- 
tion, of reproof, of encouragement, and of consolation. 

The word is, then, his instrument ; but it is not every 
thing ; the pastorate should be regarded as & paternity ; and, 
after the example of Jesus Christ, the minister should sym- 
pathize in all the interests and all the afflictions of his flock. 
He ought to be at once almoner, justice of the peace, and 
schoolmaster. 

Such, in our Church, is the idea of a pastor. The Cath- 
olic Church regards it altogether otherwise. It was impos- 
sible, because of our sinfulness, that the Christian Church 
should not have been tempted to forsake its first steps. We 
all have a propensity to backslide : nothing is so active in 
us as a tendency to return to what God has abolished. As 
early as the time of Chrysostom, the essence of the pastor's 
office was regarded as consisting in the administration of the 
sacrament. This was his own view.* It was a return to 
the ancient law, and it was one of the first traces of the ex- 
clusive importance that the Catholic Church afterward gave 
to this part of the duties of a minister. 

In the number, and at the head of the Jewish ideas, of 
which Catholicism is full, we must place, without doubt, the 

* A beautifu passage, De Sacerdotio, lib., c. iv. See Appendix, 
note A 

B 



26 RITE AND THE WORD. 

real presence. God is as really present in the Catholic wor 
ship as he was in the Levitical. I venture to say, that, as- 
suming the spirituality of Christianity, this resemblance it- 
self condemns Catholicism. "Yea, though we have known 
Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know him no more." 
—2 Cor, v, 16. 

By this means alone we are carried back to caste ; for ac- 
cording to this, any individual whatever of the priesthood 
may properly celebrate rites ; so that the personal character 
is as. nothing. In the communities where the idea of priest 
reigns, the individuality being of small importance, the cor- 
porate power must proportionately prevail. # 

With us a minister is essentially a minister of the word , 
60 far from the Avord's becoming a rite, the rite becomes the 
word. We take, in the fullest acceptation, the sense of the 
apostles, who refer the work of the Gospel to the incarnation 
of the word ; and we find nothing too strong in these ex- 
pressions of Erasmus : " Diabolus concionator : Satanas, per 
serpentem loquens, seduxit humanum genus. Deus, per 
filium loquens, reduxit oves erraticas. , 'f 

This ministry (essentially moral, since the word constitutes 
its essence) does not suffer the word to materialize itself, and 
turn itself into a rite. It aims to be the action of soul upon 
soul, and of liberty on liberty. Before all, after all, it re- 
mains a virtue. The Catholic Church, while it appears to 
give more of authority and more of action to the pastor, really 
contracts the pastoral office, by stereotyping the first forms 
under which it exercises itself,^ and in prescribing as rites 
what ought to be suggested on each occasion by charity and 

* See Lamennais, Affaires de Rome. 

t The Devil is a preacher : Satan, speaking by the serpent, has 
seduced mankind. God, speaking by his Son, has brought back the 
wandering sheep. — Ecclesiastes, lib. i. 

t It has given one fixed form for each of the inspirations of pastor- 
al love. 



RITE AND THE WORD. 27 

by wisdom, according to man's wants and circumstances. In 
the one case there is a real library ; in the other, a library 
imitated in wood. In both communions there is confession ; 
but in one it is a confession of the heart, in the other a pre 
scribed confession ; a confession which, of course, ceasing to be 
moral and true, amounts to nothing. Here is the abuse of 
Catholicism ; but let it not be exaggerated : Catholicism, as 
it has the cross, is also acquainted with the spirituality of 
the Gospel. Moreover, among the Catholics, strong protes- 
tations have arisen against the exclusive predominance of 
rite, especially from the Jansenists, who attach to preach- 
ing a very great importance, considering it as the greatest 
and the most awful of mysteries.* This idea would lead us 
far from St. Augustine, who saw in the eucharist the only 
awful mystery. It is thought that there is no mystery in 
the action of soul on soul, through the word, because this is 
an ordinary affair ; as if that which is ordinary was not often 
most mysterious and unsearchable. The same word acts in 
one manner on one, in another manner on another. With- 
out doubt, the character of the individual has much influence 
on the result ; but whence comes it that an ardent preacher 
often produces no effect, while a feeble preacher often ploughs 
the deepest furrows in the souls of men ? How many who 
have been untouched by the one have been saved by the 
other ! How often, by a single word, is the hearer converted ! 
Is not the dispensation which moves one soul, a single soul 
in a whole crowd that remains cold, one of the greatest of 
mysteries ? Preaching is, indeed, a mystery the profoundest 
of all ; one which embraces a multitude of other mysteries. 
In fact, it is God who preaches, and man is only his instru- 
ment. 

The form of the ministry, then, is the word. The design 
of the ministry is to subject to the discipline of Christ, " to 
lead captive to his obedience," souls which are appointed to 
* See the quotation from St. Cyran, in the Appendix, note B. 



28 NAMES GIVEN TO MINISTERS 

it. It is to perpetuate, to increase, to establish continually 
the kingdom of God on the earth. 

To unfold this idea in its different aspects, let us recall 
with Burnet* the different names given in the New Testa- 
ment to the ministers of the Gospel. And let us first remark, 
that in the ecclesiastical as in the political sphere, all the 
names of functions, of dignity, etc., have, in their origin, an 
altogether different sense, an altogether different force, from 
that which usage has at the same time consecrated and en- 
feebled. It happens to them as to proper names, which are 
no more than arbitrary signs, after having been truly signifi- 
cant. At the beginning of an institution truly original, the 
names of offices express duties, affections, hopes ; it is the 
soul that gives the name — and the name which it uses ex- 
presses less a power, exactly defined, a legal qualification, 
than a virtue to be exercised, an idea to be realized. All 
true names are adjectives, which become substantives by the 
lapse of time. 

1. Deacon (a word which we translate by minister) signi- 
fies servant, joining with it the idea of liberty.! The word 
deacon, like all words which pertain to an institution, has 
had the fortune of naming, instead of what the thing ought 
to be, instead of the ideal of the thing, that which it has be- 
come, that which it has been made by accident, at a certain 
time and in certain circumstances — a form of the thing rather 
than the thing itself; the ideal sense gives place to the his- 
torical, and the historical becomes the law of the idea. The 
word deacon has received a special meaning ; but it was at 
first general; and it designated, without distinction, any min- 
ister or servant of the Gospel. " "Who then is Paul, and who 
is Apollos, but ministers (deacons) by whom ye believed, even 
as the Lord gave to every man." — 1 Cor., hi., 5. " Giving 
no offense in any thing, that our ministry (deaconship) be not 

* Burnet : A Discourse of the Pastoral Care, p. 44. 

t Of Commission : Committed to a certain office — Commissary. 



IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. 29 

blamed." — 2 Cor., vi., 3. "Whereof I have been made a 
minister (a deacon) by the gift of the grace of God, which he 
hath given unto me by the effectual working of his power." 
— Eph., iii., 7. "Christ Jesus our Lord hath enabled me, 
for that he counted me to be faithful, putting me into the 
ministry {the deacojiship)." — 1 Tim., i., 12. "The Gospel 
of which I, Paul, was made a minister (a deacon)." — Col., i., 
23. For the special and later sense, see 1 Tim., iii., 8 : 
" The deacons* must be grave." — 1 Tim., iii., 12. " Let the 
deacons be the husbands of one wife ;" and, Romans, xvi., 1 : 
" I commend to you Phebe, a deaconess, of the Church of 
Cenchrea." 

We are struck with the title of deaco7i, as a special title, 
because a particular institution has appropriated this name ; 
but in the first series of passages that we have cited, it is not 
more special than is the word dovXoc (slave, servant), in 
Philippians, i., 1 : " Paul and Timothy, slaves or servants of 
Jesus Christ." And how has it happened that the members 
of the clergy do not bear the name of douli (dovXoi), and 
the ministry that of dbuleia (dovkeia), as some of the mem- 
bers of the clergy have taken the name of deacons, and their 
function, that of the diaconate ? 

2. Presbyter (elder). " Let the elders who rule well be 
counted worthy of double honor." — 1 Tim., v., 17. " They 
sent to the elders by the hands of Barnabas." — Acts, xi., 30. 
Acts, xv., passim. " He sent from Miletus to Ephesus, and 
called the elders of the Church." — Acts, xx., 17. " I left 
thee in Crete, that thou shouldst ordain elders in every city." 
— Titus, i., 5. "Is any among you sick, let him call for the 
elders of the Church." — James, v., 14. 

Our versions commonly render Txpeobvrepoc by pastor, 
which we scarcely find applied to ministers except in Ephe- 
sians, iv., 11 : "Some pastors and teachers." 

* The New Testament of the Vaudois ministers, Lausanne, 1839, 
translates, Servants of the Assembly. 



30 BISHOP APOSTLE. 

3. Bishop appears to be the synonym of elder, in Titus, 
i., 5, 7 : " That thou shouldst ordain elders" " Now a bish- 
op must be without blame ;" and in Acts, xx., 17, 28, Paul 
calls the elders of Ephesus, and commends to them the flock 
over which the Holy Ghost has made them bishops. See 
also Philippians, i., 1 : " Paul and Timothy to the bishops 
and deacons," etc.; and, 1 Tim., iii., 2: "A bishop must 
be without blame." 

This does not forbid that there should be bishops over oth- 
er bishops — inspectors of inspectors : "Against an elder re- 
ceive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses." — 
1 Tim., v., 19 ; and Titus, i., 5, cited above. But this does 
not suppose an institution, it was only an expedient. 

4. Apostles ox Delegates. — "Our brethren — they are apos- 
tles of the churches,^ and the glory of Christ." — 2 Cor., 
viii., 23. 

It must, however, be remembered that the word is applied 
tear' e^oxrjv (par excellence), to the immediate envoys of Je- 
sus Christ, in Acts, ii., 42 : " They persevered in the doctrine 
of the apostles." 

Our intention is not to determine the work, the particular 
function, which each of these names designates.! We believe 
that the words elder and bishop denote officers of churches, 
whether they were or were not charged with the function of 
teaching, a function attached to a gift or a grace, which 
does not appear to have determined the designation of eld- 
ers or bishops, since neither the one nor the other of these 
words appears in the famous passages, Ephesians, iv., 11, and 
1 Cor., xii., 28-30. And as for the word deacon, it has a 
sense much more general, and also a sense much more spe- 

* Messengers of the Assemblies. — Translation of the Vaudois 
ministers. 

\ Consult Neander on this: Geschichte der Apostel, i., 1, p. 37-47. 
Villemaix: Mczurs des Chretiens pendant les irois premieres Siccles, p. 
178, et smv. 



PASTOR. 31 

cial than the two others, designating either any kind of Gos- 
pel work, or a very particular function in a church. Our 
object, without stopping to distinguish the different applica- 
tions of the ministry, is solely to explain, by means of words, 
characters common to all — characters of the evangelical min- 
istry, in whatever department it may be exercised. What 
we have found in the three first words, that is to say, with- 
out going beyond the proper terms, and before approaching 
figures, are the ideas of voluntary service, of authority (found- 
ed in one case on age), and of oversight.* But it is proba- 
ble that figurative expressions will instruct us further ; for 
their purpose, in every subject, is to descend to a greater depth 
in the idea than the expression strictly conveys. We proceed 
then to cite figurative expressions, which unquestionably are 
applied, by anticipation, to ministers of the Gospel. 

1. Pastor is not, as we may be inclined to think, the syno- 
nym of elder, but that of teacher. — See Ephesians, iv., 11. 
We have already said that the office of elder or administra- 
tor is not embraced in that solemn distribution of powers or 
virtues (x(ipla[j,ara), of which we have before spoken. More- 
over, the passage in Ephesians, iv., 11, is the only one in 
which the title of pastor is directly applied to ministers of 
the Gospel ; but, without doubt, it is- applied to them indi- 
rectly when Jesus Christ is called the Shepherd (pastor) and 
bishop of our souls (1 Peter, ii., 25), and when Jesus Christ 
said to Simon, "Feed my sheep." — John, xxi., 16, 17. 

The word pastor, taken in a figurative sense, occurs in the 
Old Testament, but it is there applied indifferently to proph- 
ets and to magistrates. f Besides, in the sense of the Theoc- 

* M. Vinet did not add, until after a revision of his lecture, the word 
apostle to this first series of names, which no doubt is the reason that 
he does not here present the idea of mission, which is included in the 
fourth. 

t IIoz,ueVes \dccv. " It has almost come to pass that religion and 
justice keep pace in the republic, and that men are consecrated by 



32 OTHER NAMES GIVEN TO MINISTERS. 

racy, magistrates were pastors, even as pastors were mag- 
istrates. They were two forms of the same employment. 
Nevertheless, in Ezekiel, xxxiv., passim, it is admirably ap- 
plied to a pastor, in the actual sense of the word. 

2. Steward or Dispenser. — " Let a man so account of us 
as stewards of the mysteries of God ; moreover, it is required 
of stewards that a man be found faithful." — 1 Cor., iv., 1, 2. 

3. Embassador. — "Now, then, we are embassadors for 
Christ."— 2 Cor., v., 20. 

4. Angel or messenger. — " The seven stars are the angels 
of the seven Churches." — Apoc, i., 20. 

5. Rider. — " Obey them that have the rule over you" 
{Treideade rolg i\yov\xkv6iq vfxoyv). — Hebrews, xiii., 17. 

6. Builder. — " I have laid the foundation as a wise mas- 
ter-builder." — 1 Cor., iii., 10. 

7. Workma?i. — " We are workers together with God ; ye 
are God's husbandry, God's building." — 1 Cor., i., 19. "A 
householder hired laborers into his vineyard." — Matt., xx., 1. 
" The harvest is great, but the laborers are few ; pray, then, 
the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into his har- 
vest." — Matt., ix., 37, 38. "I have planted, Apollos water- 
ed, but God giveth the increase." — 1 Cor., iii., 6. 

8. Soldier. — " Epaphroditus, my fellow- soldier." — Philip- 
pians, ii., 25. " Endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus 
Christ."— 2 Tim., xi., 3. 

Let us first remark that, of all the designations by which 
we might expect to see the minister of religion denned or 
characterized, only one is wanting in the New Testament. 
It is that of priest, although it is the Christian word presby- 
ter which has furnished the word priest. There may be 
priests in those religions which wait for the true and sover- 
eign Priest ; there are none in that religion which has re- 

the magistrate as well as by the priesthood." — La Bruyere, Lcs Car- 
acteres ; the chapter entitled Be quelques usages. See Burnet, A Dis- 
course of the Pastoral Care y page 45. 



THE CHRISTIAN MINISTER. 33 

ceived and which believes in him. In this no one is priest, 
because every one is priest ; and it is remarkable that in the 
Gospel it is only to Christians in general that this word is 
applied. See 1 Peter, ii., 9 : " Ye are a chosen people," " a 
royal priesthood,"^ etc. — the fulfillment of the prophecy of 
Isaiah, lxi., 6 : " Ye shall be called the priests of the Lord, 
and ye shall be named the ministers of our God." 

It was necessary to have a sacrifice perpetuating the only 
and once accomplished sacrifice, in order to recover the idea 
of the ancient priesthood, which was absorbed in the supreme 
and eternal priesthood of Jesus Christ. 

For us, who do not receive the real presence, what remains 
in the minister when once the supernatural gifts have ceased ? 
The Christian, only the Christian, consecrating his activity 
to make others Christians, and to confirm in Christianity 
those who have embraced this religion. He does habitually 
what occasionally, and in a special manner, all Christians 
should do. He does it with a degree of authority proportion- 
ed to what we may suppose a man has of knowledge and fit- 
ness, who has consecrated himself exclusively to that work. 
But he has no revelation peculiar to himself. In announcing 
the wisdom of God as a mystery (1 Cor., ii., 7), in giving 
himself to be a steward of the mysteries of God, he does not 
profess to be more inspired than the humblest believer. He 
is a steward, a manager of the common interest ; he does 
not take, like Jesus Christ, of that which is his own (John, 
xvi., 15), but of that which belongs to all. If he thinks it 
is right, according to the word of St. Paul, that believers 
should obey him as their spiritual ruler, the sense in which 
he understands this leaves intact the liberty and responsibil- 
ity of those who obey. He protests against the idea of dom- 
ineering over the heritage of the Lord, 1 Peter, v., 3, com- 
pared with 2 Cor., i., 24 : "Not that we have dominion over 

* Baoiheiov IspaTiv/m. See Neander, Geschichte der Apostel, i., 162, 
163. 

B 2 



34 A SERVANT OF HUMANITY. 

your faith." He opposes, also, the individuality and inde- 
pendence of a Christian to the servile credulity of the idola- 
ter : "Ye know that ye were Gentiles drawn away toward 
dumh idols, even as ye were led." — 1 Cor., xii., 2. 

The idea of service* covers all the titles which he gives 
and the authority which he attributes to himself: He rejects 
every idea of his own power : "Who, then, are Paul and 
Apollos but servants?"— I Cor., hi., 22. And remark that 
these rulers, these embassadors, call themselves servants not 
only of God, but of believers themselves. If they say, " Let 
every one so account of us as servants of Jesus Christ" (1 
Cor., iv., 1), they also say " Ourselves your servants for Je- 
sus' sake." — 2 Cor., iv., 5. "Whether Paul, or Apollos, or 
Cephas .... all is yours, and ye are Christ's, and Christ is 
God's."f— 1 Cor., iii., 22. 

Examine all the titles, all the names which are given to 
ministers in the Gospel, you will not find one which goes be- 
yond the limits of this idea, the servant of humanity, in its 
great interest, from the love of God. All is noble in this 
institution, which rejects every force except of persuasion, 
has no other end but the reign of truth, and is not distin- 
guished except by a more absolute devotion. 

Still, all these words, all these metaphors, all the addi- 
tional passages, do not attain to the complete sum of the ele- 
ments of the ministry — to the ideal of a pastor. We have 
need of a type, a model, a personification of each idea. 
Where shall we look for it ? If any one has been the type 
of man, he has been, at the same time, the type of a pastor ; 

* Aov\os is a name more than once applied to apostles. — See Rom., 
i., 1 ; Gal, i., 10 ; Phil., L, 1 ; Col., iv., 12 ; 2 Tim., ii., 24 ; Tit., L, 1 ; 
James, i., 1 ; 2 Peter, i., 1 ; Jude, i. 

t As to the speedy appearance of the contrary principle, or the per- 
sonal authority of the priest, see Schwarz, Katechetic, p. 11, 12. Soon 
after the apostoli-3 age appear the clergy and the hierarchy. Note C, 
Appendix. 



IDEAL OF THE MINISTER. 35 

for it is impossible that the pastor should not make a part of 
the ideal of man — impossible that he, in whom the perfection 
of human nature was fully represented, should not have been 
a pastor. 

This new man, this second Adam, could not have been 
such except by love. The first object of love is that which 
is immortal in man : It is, then, upon the soul that love will 
chiefly exercise itself ; and as we can not do good to the soul 
except through its regeneration, and as it can not be regener- 
ated except by the truth, to impart the truth, to nourish the 
soul with truth, to feed it thus in green pastures, and along 
tranquil waters, was necessarily the office of a perfect man, 
of the type of man : He must have been a pastor. 

Christ also has said, " I am the good Shepherd" (John, x., 
11) ; and again, " I am come to serve, and not to be served."* 
—Matt., xx., 28. 

Also, his immediate disciples have named him "The chief 
Shepherd (pastor) and Bishop of our souls." — 1 Peter, ii., 25. 

And he himself has given the most sublime commentary 
on this word shepherd in this passage : " The good shepherd 
gives his life for his sheep."- — John, x., 11. Here the met- 
aphor is insufficient ; it is not in the idea of a shepherd to 
give his life for the sheep. 

And what he said he has done. He not only watches the 
sheep, but he goes after them. He goes from place to place. 
John the Baptist remained in the desert. 

And at last, from a pastor he makes himself a lamb, sub- 
stituting himself for the lambs : He was immolated : He is 
" the lamb slain from the foundation of the world." — Apoc, 
xiii., 8. 

* " Summus Ecclesiastes Dei Filius, qui est imago Patris absolutis- 
sima, qui virtus et sapientia genitoris est aeterna, per quem Patri vi- 
sum est humanae gentis largiri quidquid bonorum mortalium generi 
dare decreverat, nullo alio cognomine magnificentius significantiusve 
denotatur in sacris litteris, quam quum dicitur vcrbum, sive, sermo 
Dei." — Erasmus, Ecclesiastes, lib. i. 



36 IDEAL OF THE MINISTER. 

This divine pastor, who behooved to be, according to Saint 
Bernard, the pastor of the worlds in the heavens, and who 
has made himself that of humanity, has embraced in his so- 
licitude all the interests of humanity ; for which he accom- 
plished, during the days of his flesh, both the good which it 
desires, and the good which it does not desire. 

In conclusion, for we have reserved this trait for the last, 
he has, of deliberate purpose, without external necessity (in 
every thing,, indeed, circumstances concurred with his will), 
symbolized the spirit of the ministry in washing the feet of his 
disciples ; nor did he by silence permit this symbol to remain 
obscure. — John xiii., 5, 14, 15, 16. If, as he said himself 
on that occasion, "the servant is not greater than his mas- 
ter," we have found the idea of a pastor. We ought to be 
servants ; but the notion of service, in its plenitude, contains 
that of sacrifice. The minister is, as he ought to be, a per- 
manent victim. It may be said that the Christian is already 
a victim ; this term expresses no more as to the pastor. The 
objection only gives force to our assertion ; for if the Chris- 
tian is a victim, much more the pastor, who is a Christian 
by office. 

On the whole : The pastor is nothing more by name than 
a steward of the word of God. He is a man who has con- 
secrated himself to break to the multitude the bread of 
truth. He is a man who has devoted himself to apply — to 
appropriate to men the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus 
Christ,* since God has determined to save men by the fool- 
ishness of preaching. As Jesus Christ is sent of God, he is 
sent by Jesus Christ. He comes, on his part, to do from 
gratitude all that Jesus Christ did from pure love. He re- 
produces every thing of Jesus Christ except his merits. As 
to the obligations imposed on him, he is neither less nor more 

* " God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, and has 
committed to us the word of reconciliation." — 2 Cor., v., 19 



HYMN. 3? 

than his master. He does, under the auspices of divine mercy, 
all that Jesus Christ did under the weight of the divine wrath. 
By word, by works, and by obedience, he perpetuates Jesus 
Christ. 

HYMN. 

King of glory and man of sorrows ! whoever has loved thee 
has suffered, whoever loves thee consents to suffer. He com- 
mits himself at once to glory and to sorrow. 

On thy account he suffers even in dreams ; so suffered, 
without knowing thee, the wife of the judge who delivered 
thee up. "Whoever feebly loves thee, or whoever laments 
thee, can not but find himself on thy road. Like Simon of 
Cyrene, he becomes a partaker of the heavy burden of thy 
cross. 

Men curse those who bless thee ; humanity excludes them 
from its universal communion ; and in that place of exile 
from the human family, they are themselves twice in exile. 

All those who have loved thee have suffered ; but all those 
who have suffered on thy account have loved thee the more. 
Grief unites us to thee, as joy does to the world. 

Like a generous wine, grief intoxicates those whom thou 
invitest to thy mysterious banquet, and from their contrite 
heart it draws hymns of adoration and love. 

Happy he who, like the Cyrenean, has abased himself to 
take his part of the cross which thou bearest ! Happy he who 
would endure in his body that which remains — that which 
will remain till the end of the world, to be borne of thy suffer- 
ings for the Church, thy body ! 

Happy the faithful pastor, who, in his flesh, partakes of thy 
sacrifice and thy conflict ! While he struggles and groans, I 
see him, in my visions, hidden in thy bosom, as on the day of 
the funereal banquet, him whom thou lovedst. 

"While love bears him, bruised and bloody, from place to 
place, and from suffering to suffering, he himself, unknown 



38 NECESSITY OF THE MINISTRY. 

to the world, reposes upon thy bosom in an august retreat, 
and tastes in silence the sweetness of thy words. 

Happy the faithful pastor ! His love multiplies his sac- 
rifices, and his sacrifices multiply his love. Love, which is 
the soul of his labors, is also his exceeding great reward. 

Happy the faithful pastor ! That which every Christian 
would be, he has been. That cross, which each one endures 
iii his turn, he bears without ceasing. That Jesus, with 
whom the world incessantly divides our regards, is himself 
his world, and the object of his assiduous contemplation. 

Happy, thrice happy, if all his desire is to add some voices 
to the concert of the blessed, and to remain concealed in the 
universal joy, only keeping in his heart the invisible regard 
and the everlasting Well done! of the Master and the Father ! 

§ 2. Necessity of the Evangelical Ministry. 

It concerns candidates for the holy ministry to know wheth- 
er this office be necessary. 

At the first glance this inquiry appears very superfluous. 
Facts precede proofs : we are convinced by instinct. Still, 
we may ask (and a whole Christian community, that of the 
Quakers,* has replied to the question in the negative), Wheth- 
er a particular class of persons, consecrated to the administra- 
tion of worship, and to instruction in religion, is necessary. 

The almost universality of the institution would be. in the 
eyes of many persons, a sufficient proof of its necessity. It 
is, however, only a very strong presumption, after which there 
remains an open question. 

We make two kinds of replies : one, applicable to all the 
analogies of the ministry ; the other, to the ministry imme- 
diately. 

I. — 1. Every important office, relating to one of the chief 

* With Quakers, even, some persons from the whole are invested 
with a kind of ministry. 



NECESSITY OF THE MINISTRY. 39 

necessities of society, to one of the essential elements of life, 
requires special men exclusively devoted to that office.* 

2. Every community requires and supposes officers, a gov- 
ernment. That government may be composed of only one 
class of persons, or of many ; may be more or less rational, 
more or less perfect. It matters not, the principle remains : 
and a society without government, a society having rules, 
and no one to maintain or represent them, is perhaps more 
inconceivable than a government without a rule which limits 
and directs its own action. 

II. — 1. The office of the ministry can not, in general, be 
carried to its true perfection except by men who are exclu- 
sively devoted to it ; and, in general, many things can only be 
accomplished by such men. 

2. In times when religion, cultivated scientifically, has be- 
come itself a science — when, having formed a multitude of 
relations to private and public life, it is charged with a mass 
of details and applications, it is difficult for the ministry to 
be well and completely discharged by a man who is not ex- 
clusively a minister. 

3. There is, in the work of the ministry, a limit at which 
each one, or the greater number, will stop, if positive duty 
does not oblige them to proceed ; each one will take only 
what is convenient to him, and many even will think that 
they have done too much in going so far. 

"When a single person has to decide a thing, he will bring 
all his conscience to it ; when forty persons, each one will 
bring the fortieth part of his conscience. When one does not 
consider his responsibility as entire, it is to be feared he will 
do little, if any thing at all. It would then be in a superfl- 

* The jury is not an exception. It does not exclude the office of 
judge. It is only the indication of an idea (which religion repro- 
duces in other forms), that a society commits to special men only 
that which all can not do, and that the commission ceases when those 
who give it can act for themselves. 



40 NECESSITY OF THE MINISTRY. 

cial, irregular, and intermittent manner that the work would 
be done, if we could not always rely upon certain men. 

Zeal for the advancement of the kingdom of God, and faith 
in a universal priesthood, were certainly not less, than they 
are now, at the time when the Holy Spirit said, in Antioch, 
to a college of prophets and teachers, already separated and 
called by him, " Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the 
work unto which I have called them."— Acts, xiii., 2. 

It may, perhaps, be said that one can not judge by what is 
now done as to what would be done if believers would not 
cast upon ministers the burden of a ministry which belongs 
to all. We believe that what they would first do would be 
to make ministers. For if it be said that general zeal would 
be greater in the absence of these special men, that zeal, 
even at its greatest height, not meeting precisely all the 
wants for which the minister is appointed, would lead Chris- 
tians to do that which, we think, indifference and idleness 
might make them do ; that is to say, to make sure, by the 
creation of a special office, the satisfaction of those wants for 
which they themselves would no longer suffice. The more 
the zeal, the less would they be disposed to leave great in- 
terests to suffer, for the want of special men to take care of 
them. 

HufTell* regards ministers of the Gospel as depositaries 
and guardians of the principle of life deposited in the Gospel. 
Christianity is essentially a life which transmits itself; but if 
chosen men do not transmit it,t if that transmission of life is 
abandoned to the life itself, it will soon cease. Without the 

* Huffell : Wesen und Beruf des Evangelisch-chrisilichen Geist- 
lichcn, t. i., p. 28, third edition. 

t Vital lampada. — These words, which we throw into a note, and 
which, in«M. Vinet's manuscript, are in the text, between parentheses, 
are probably transferred from this verse of Lucretius : 
Et, quasi cursores, vitai lampada tradunt. 
— De Rerum Natura, lib. ii., v. 78. — Ed. 



INSTITUTION OF THE MINISTRY. 41 

ministry, according to HufTell, Christianity would not last two 
centuries. 

This is, perhaps, too positive and too absolute ; but it can 
not be said that it would, in general, be doubting the truth 
and power of a work to make its duration depend on certain 
means. Nothing is done without means ; and when it is the 
institution itself which creates its own means, when it draws 
them from itself, and chooses them conformably to its nature, 
we can not say that it must be precarious because it employs 
means. We should rather think it precarious if it did not 
employ them. If it employed in the ministry its own best 
elements, the best part of its substance, to propagate itself, 
would it not grow ? 

No one doubts but that the life of the Church supposes and 
requires a perpetual testimony, an uninterrupted tradition ; 
and it is necessary that this testimony, this tradition, should 
be sure. A Church would be wanting to itself if it did not 
make sure not only the perpetuity, but the just perfection- of 
this testimony, this tradition. — Rom., x., 14, 15. 

Herder* defends the institution, but thinks it may not be 
always necessary. We shall not pursue this inquiry ; let us 
keep it as long as it shall be necessary, and not abandon it 
until it shall be no longer needed. We are convinced that 
this time will never come. 



§ 3. Institution of the Evangelical Ministry. 

Besides the necessity resulting from the nature of things, 
is there not a necessity of another kind, a positive duty ; in 
other words, is not the ministry a divine, or a canonical in- 
stitution ? 

Did Jesus Christ himself, or the apostles in his name, or- 
dain that the Church should, in all ages, have special men 

* Herder : Provincialblcetter, iii., tome x., des (Euvrcs Theologiques, 
p. 334-341. 



42 INSTITUTION OF THE MINISTRY. 

charged with the administration of worship and the conduct 
of souls ? Strictly speaking, no. Jesus Christ instituted but 
little ; he inspired much more. It is his cross, and not his 
institutions, which separates the Old World from the New. 
What remained he left to the Holy Spirit, who was to come 
after him. He abolished virtually, rather than formally. He 
preferred the insensible but infallible action of the Spirit to 
the less sure and less delicate action of the letter. His reign 
is a spiritual reign. His disciples understood this, and were 
in no haste to abolish or to overthrow. And it was not al- 
ways given them to see at once what in the old economy was 
consistent with the new. God did not impart to them at 
once all they were to know, but gave them a light which was 
gradually to chase away the darkness. The entire develop- 
ment of Christianity has been thus made, and we have yet 
to hope for a new world of discoveries. This progressive 
march, however, relates only to secondary points in the Gos- 
pel ; for, as to doctrine, the apostles, from the beginning, were 
of the same mind, and they have told us every thing. It is 
not the same with institutions ; these have been provided, 
little by little, as the want of them has been felt. 

Jesus Christ called around him a few men from among his 
followers, and intrusted them with a message, and with func- 
tions resembling his own, and said to them (to them, and not 
to others), " As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you." 
— John, xx., 21. 

St. Paul says that Jesus Christ gave some apostles, and 
some prophets, and some evangelists and teachers.* — Eph., 
iv., 11. Here Jesus Christ appears as the guide of the 
Church, of its first messengers; the organization and govern- 
ment of the Church are ascribed to Him ; and it was evident, 
according to St. Paul, that it was his will that the Church 

* Bridges remarks how the form of these words shows grandeur in 
the institution ( The Christian Ministry, p. 5). See Calvin, comment- 
ary on this place, t. vi., p. 129, Berlin edition, 1834. 



INSTITUTION OF THE MINISTRY. 43 

should have ministers. The apostles, as they had been sent, 
sent in their turn ; the ministry continues of itself, without 
having been formally instituted — once for all. 

But as Jesus Christ said to his apostles, " Go and preach 
the Gospel to every creature" (Mark, xvi., 15) ; and since 
those to whom he directly spoke could only begin the execu- 
tion of a command, for the entire fulfillment of which centu- 
ries were necessary, he addressed himself also, in their person, 
to their successors : He has thus implicitly instituted the min- 
istry, unless it may be" said that the continuation of the work 
did not require special men, such as had been needed at the 
beginning. 

This leads us to our second reflection, which is, that, un- 
less the circumstances in which Jesus Christ conferred the 
apostolate have essentially changed, his order stands for all 
ages, and is equivalent to an institution. For not to renew, 
in similar circumstances, that which he himself founded, 
would be, in some sort, to condemn the first foundation, which 
never would have been made if it had not been intended to 
be continued forever. 

It has been objected that ministers should be interpreters 
of the Holy Spirit, that consequently the Spirit, which has been 
given to all the faithful, would set apart for each want the 
ministers that would be required, and move them to speak at 
the given moment. This is the opinion of the Society of 
Friends. From a true principle they have drawn a false 
consequence. For a special ministry does not bind the Spirit, 
does not prevent the Heavenly wind from blowing where it 
listeth. 

"We must, by all human means, endeavor to have ministers 
through whom the Spirit speaks. If, notwithstanding this, 
unworthy men are found among them, while we deplore the 
evil, we must confess that the same thing might happen in 
those churches where all have a right to speak, and all wait 
for the Spirit to inspire them. Might they not deceive them- 



44 PERMANENCE OF THE INSTITUTION. 

selves? and those who have the gift of speech, might they 
not speak in order to gain power ? The danger would be 
greater than with us ; for these preachers, not being pre- 
pared by special study, would have less security against it. 

It has been said that there can not exist a ministry, be- 
cause there is no Church ; that a Church is not possible in 
this world. This is true, if one speaks of the ideal of a Church. 
This ideal has never been realized, not even in the time of 
the apostles ; but now, as then, Christians meet to hear the 
word preached ; to be consoled, to be confirmed ; they need 
to pray together, to give thanks together ; and for this a 
minister is necessary, a servant of God who puts the word 
within their reach, and who, under the guidance of the Holy 
Spirit, comes to the aid of their weakness. 

At least missionaries will be needed : For in our day we may 
say with St. Paul, " How shall they call on Him in whom 
they have not believed ? And how shall they believe in Him 
of whom they have not heard ? And how shall they hear with- 
out a preacher ? And how shall they preach, unless they be 
sent?" — Rom., x., 14, 15. 

But all the ministers Jesus Christ gave to the primitive 
Church were not missionaries, in the special sense we attach 
to the word. Many were pastors, and provided as such for 
wants that exist to-day, and always will exist : And, after 
all, are not all pastors half missionaries ? Are there not in the 
bosom of their churches, and all around them, souls which 
must be sought after, as one seeks after pagans and idola- 
ters a thousand leagues distant ? Does the work of conver- 
sion ever cease ? Must we not always throw the net far and 
near ? The circumstances, then, which in the beginning led 
to the institution of the ministry, are they not the same to- 
day, and do they not require the same measures ? And would 
it not be disavowing Jesus Christ himself, not to do in his 
name to-day what he himself would do if he were in the 
midst of us ? 



ANSWER TO OBJECTIONS. 45 

Let us also observe, that whatever may be said to-day in 
favor of the abolition of the ministry might have been said 
at that time against its institution. One might have said 
then that every faithful person is a minister, which is true ; 
that no believer should be exempt from the duty of " shoiv- 
ing forth the praises of Him who called him out of darkness 
into his marvelous light" (1 Peter, ii., 9), which is also true ; 
that the Christian life is a system of preaching ; that faith be- 
gets faith, etc. All these things are true ; but with them 
there are others not less true, which make the ministry as 
necessary to-day as it ever has been. 

Let us observe, finally, that the apostles have never spoken 
of the ministry as an accidental, transitory thing, or as a tem- 
porary institution. In short, on this subject we think, that 
to strike out the word institution would scarcely be more than 
taking away a word ; since, if Jesus Christ has not formally, 
and in some way by letters patent, instituted the ministry, 
we can not doubt as to His will in respect to it ? It is no 
departure from truth — no exaggeration to say that the min- 
istry is a divine institution. 

§ 4. Does the Ministry constitute an Order in the 
Church ? 

A discussion has been raised on the question, Is the minis- 
try an order ?* 

This may appear idle, after the solution of the former ques- 
tion, from which it can hardly be distinguished. Theolo- 
gians, however, who agree as to the divine institution of the 
ministry, are divided on this point. It is, then, worth while 
to examine it. 

If the ministry, that is to say, the consecration of certain 
special men to the management of the Church, has been in- 
stituted, these men, distinguished among all others, form nee- 
* In German, Stand. 



46 IS THE MINISTRY AN ORDER ? 

essarily an order, at least in one sense. If there is contro- 
versy, it is without doubt on the greater or less latitude of 
meaning, of which the word order is susceptible ; for the dis- 
putants are agreed to acknowledge the institution. 

It is certain that the word order may awaken in different 
minds very different ideas. Some incline to the notion of a 
Levitical tribe, of a sacerdotal caste, separated into a relig- 
ious society, exercising exclusive functions, proceeding less 
from the community than the community proceeds from it, ex- 
isting by itself, imposed upon the flocks by an authentic divine 
institution, or by Providence ; legitimate, in a word, in the 
sense which political parties have given to that expression. 

Others, who, in a certain sense, would be disposed to ac- 
cept the ministry as an order, having received it as an insti- 
tution, refuse to see in the clergy an order, if that word nec- 
essarily imports all the ideas which we have just expressed. 
"With these the ministry constitutes, indeed, a particular class 
of persons, a kind of functionaries of which Jesus Christ would 
have his Church never deprived ; but, in their view, the sim- 
ilarity of their functions no more raises them to an order, than 
the grade of captain or officer makes an order of all the cap- 
tains or all the officers of an army, who are nothing, in fact, 
but soldiers of a more elevated rank. Ministers are, in their 
view, only officers of the Christian army, with this import- 
ant difference that each may become an officer of his chief, 
as soon as he shall find soldiers prepared to accept him as 
such, and to march under his direction. 

Each of these opinions has, again, degrees and shades. 
With the greater part of the defenders of the one and the 
other, there is less a reasonable conviction than a habitude 
or tendency : As to their origin, they are less two systems 
than two different spirits. But when circumstances have in- 
duced lively manifestations of these two spirits, and have 
brought them together, it has been necessary to explain them ; 
and habit on one part, and tendency on another, have be- 



DIFFERENT OPINIONS. 47 

come formally systems, which have had to give account of 
their foundations, discovered perhaps too late. 

Those who admit that the ministry is an order look to 
the past as their support ; the others rest on speculation. At 
the Reformation they did not systematize ; they felt that they 
lived, and method and form were neglected. Afterward came 
a season of repose ; the clergy in certain places formed an 
order. Now we have to choose ; Catholicism urges us ; we 
ought to be openly Protestants. We have kept many Cath- 
olic rags ; we should now decidedly dress ourselves anew. 

Among the more eminent defenders of the second system, 
in these later times, we should distinguish Neander. 

Neander^ notices the tendency, which discovered itself 
early in the Church, to make pastors a caste. He notices 
the resistance of Clement (i., 217) and of Tertullian (i., 245) 
to this return toward Judaism. These fathers valued (and 
Neander did after them) the idea of a universal priesthood, 
according to 1 Peter, ii., 9, and Apoc, i., 6. Neander and 
his authorities did not admit the institution of priests, except 
in the sense of a useful division of labor. f See Acts, vi., 4, 
the institution of deacons. 

Harms replied to Neander^ that the language of St. Peter 
is figurative, and that the Hebrew people were denominated 
priests : "Ye shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy 
nation." — Exod., xix., 6. 

But this is passing from side to side with arguments, of 
which one destroys nothing, and the other constructs nothing. 
For the idea of universal priesthood does not contradict that 
of special priesthood ; and Harms has reason to allege on 

* Neander : Denkwicrdegkeiten, i., 64-69, et 179. Geschichte der 
Apostel, i., 162. See also Schwarz, Katechetik, p. 11. Notes C and 
D, of the Appendix, give the translation of these passages. 

f Neander : Allgemeine Geschichte der chrisllichen Religion u?id 
Kir die, i., 277. Note E, of Appendix, gives the translation of this 
passage. See also Rettig, Die freie protestantische Kirche, p. 87. 

t Pastoraltheologie, ii., p. 11. 



48 UNIVERSAL AND SPECIAL MINISTRY. 

the subject Exod., xix., 6 ; and, on the other side, a special 
would not be inconsistent with a universal priesthood. 

It appears to me useful to remark, for the advantage of 
both these truths, that those who spoke in the Bible of a 
universal priesthood were themselves clothed with a special 
priesthood, and maintained that character in opposition to 
those to whom they addressed themselves : In their idea the 
two priesthoods, or the two ministries, were not inconsistent. 

Besides, in the new economy, it is certain that, in one re- 
spect, the universal ministry is the only real one ; not that it 
excludes the other, but because in this new economy the oth- 
er ministry, I mean to say the priesthood properly so called, 
no longer exists : No one is specially a priest, and each is 
one in proportion to his union to the Head, Jesus Christ. 
There only remains the ministry of the word, which is, at 
the same time, special and universal. And here we repeat 
our observation : inspired men who received this ministry as 
universal did not cease to exercise it in a special manner ; 
they did not dream of annulling either the one or the other. 

They also acknowledged that the believer is directly taught 
of God, and that consequently he has his sovereign pastor in 
heaven : They insisted much on the immediate relation of 
every believer to Him who is at the same time the object 
and the author (the beginner and the finisher) of his faith. 
This is, in effect, the essence of true religion ; the spirit of 
the true worshipers of the Father, the character of worship 
when God is revealed as Father. Even in the Old Testa- 
ment we find vivid traces of this idea. — Jer., xxxi., 31, 34. 
But these same men who preached the immediate interces- 
sion of the believer with God, and who gave mediators no 
place or part with the Holy Mediator, did not less exercise 
the ministry of the word, which has precisely for its ob- 
ject and its last end to produce that immediate intercourse. 
Are they inconsistent with themselves ? Not in the least. 
We must not, then, oppose either the universal ministry to 



IS THE MINISTRY A CASTE ? 49 

the special ministry, or the special ministry to the universal 
ministry ; but as they are of the same nature, as in no one of 
their elements are they different ; as the one has no efficacy 
or light which has been refused to the other, we must truly 
acknowledge, with Neander, that the special ministry exists 
only by virtue of a division of labor, and for divers reasons 
which we have indicated above. To inquire for the reason 
of an institution, the idea which gave it birth is not to nullify 
the institution, nor to overthrow the authority of Him who 
founded it. 

The truth on this question finds its limit on one side (that 
is to say, on the side which tends to a strict distinction of 
ministers), in the words already cited (1 Peter, ii., 9 : "Ye 
are a royal priesthood," and Apoc, i., 6) ; on the other side 
(that is to say, on the side opposed to the distinction), in the 
words of St. Paul : " Paul, separated to the Gospel of God." 
— Rom., i., 1. 

There is, then, an order only in the sense of a class of men 
indispensable in the Church, co-ordinate and set over each 
Church, the living centre of each Church, " for the perfecting 
of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edification 
of the body of Christ." — Ephesians, iv., 12. 

This order can be a caste* only in the following cases : 

1. In the case where it is hereditary, as in the Mosaic in- 
stitution ; or transmitted, as in the Romish Church. Now 
the first does not exist ; and, as Protestants, we deny the sec- 
ond. Transmission in the Romish Church has sense and rea- 
son only by virtue of the mystery of the real presence, and 
infallible interpretation ; take away these two dogmas, make 
the pastor to be a simple administrator of worship, without 
mystery, and a simple preacher of the word, which the Holy 
Spirit may explain to any other as well as to him, and what 

* Caste is a term applied to certain classes of persons, to distin- 
guish them from the rest of the nation to which they belong. — Die- 
tidnnaire de VAcademie. 

c 



50 WHAT CONSTITUTES CASTE ? 

rational, psychological foundation remains for succession ? 
And reciprocally, if you admit the dogma of succession, you 
are constrained to find for it a reason, a ground, in one or the 
other of the two forecited dogmas, or else in both. The his- 
toric, or legal foundation, never suffices to preserve an insti- 
tution which does not subsist, except by interior reasons, found- 
ed in human nature. Reduce the transmission of ecclesias- 
tical powers to a historic base, and you take away from them, 
whatever may be the solidity of that base, all sufficient rea- 
son of existence, all means of perpetuating them. In our na- 
tional Protestant churches our ministers are consecrated by 
ministers, and this is well ; but still it may be, that, in as- 
cending from consecration to consecration, we may arrive at 
men who consecrated themselves : The right is then acquired 
by all others to do the same thing. 

2. In the case where the minister is not a citizen in the 
full extent of the term. Now it may be that here and there 
civil institutions may restrain his quality of citizen ; but that 
restriction is not of his doing, and is not required by any of 
the elements of the institution. It is otherwise with respect 
to the Romish priest, who can not be a citizen and retain his 
character as priest. As to constitutional power, which, in 
certain countries, may appertain to his order, it is a very 
different thing from civic individual fitness : It is the intru- 
sion of the Church, or of the clergy, into the department of 
civil affairs. 

3. In the case where his functions are exclusive. JN"ow 
a society may very well agree to recur, as a society, to this 
man or this order ; but, apart from this, the functions of the 
ministry may be exercised by simple believers. 

The ministry, then, does not form a caste. It does not 
even form a body, except accidentally. The accident is cer- 
tainly frequent, but still it remains an accident. Existence 
as a body is not essential to the ministry. 

To conclude in a word : the ecclesiastical ministry is a con- 



LMPORTANCE OF THE QUESTION. 51 

secration, made under certain conditions, of particular mem- 
bers of a Christian flock to be occupied specially, but not to 
the exclusion of others, in the administration of worship and 
the care of souls. A religious society may, moreover, direct 
that the solemnities which bring it together shall be presided 
over exclusively by those special men whom it calls ministers 
or pastors. 

It seems easy to hold a position between the two limits 
now indicated. If either should absorb us, it would be at 
the expense of evangelical truth. But it is certain that we 
could not lose one of these things without losing the other 
also. There is no choice left to us. We must preserve or 
lose both at once. 

This discussion is not idle. It is true that the attack and 
defense pass from side to side without an encounter, each 
part maintaining that which the other does not reject, and 
rejecting what the other does not care to defend. But this 
discussion, which would have been out of place at another 
time, indicates a disposition of mind which should not be un- 
observed, and, moreover, it leads us to determine well our po- 
sition in the Church and in society. 

The disposition of mind is singular. It implies a contra- 
diction. We do every thing that we may become a caste, 
and yet we are afraid that we shall be a caste. It is not 
considered that it is in the nature of a body in exile to make 
itself an empire, and that it will not even recognize equals, 
when it has no opportunity of comparing itself with others. 
We create, or, at least, strengthen the esprit de corps by this 
fear of the esprit de corps. 

The clergy itself is undecided between the remembrance 
of its ancient authority and the sense of its actual situation. 

Religious interest revived, not yet in the masses but in a 
certain number of individuals, tends to give importance to 
the clergy ; this same interest approximates the laity to the 
functions of the clergy, and more or less effaces the distinction. 



52 EXCELLENCE OF THE MINISTRY. 

This state of things should teach us this, at least, to re- 
main or to enter on the terms of the Gospel. These terms we 
have denned. 

Thus in every Church, organized according to the word, 
and according to the spirit of Jesus Christ, there will be 
ministers, forming or not forming a collective body, I would 
say never a caste ; entering, in every thing which does not 
exclusively concern their official functions, into the category 
of other citizens and other Christians, and not having any 
inalienable qualification, except in the interest of the order, 
and within the limits of that interest. 



k 5. Excellence of the Ministry. 

The ministry, necessary to Christianity, partaking of the 
necessity of Christianity, and also instituted or ordained by 
Jesus Christ, can not but be, according to St. Paul (1 Tim., 
iii., 4), an excelle?it office. , 

Let us, nevertheless, study it in itself, and indicate the prin- 
cipal characteristics which should exalt it in our view. 

At the first glance, and according to secular views, the art, 
par excellence, is that of governing minds (Ars est artium 
regimen animarum) ; and although others besides the preach- 
er undertake this, and succeed in it, it is certain that when he 
does succeed in it, it is in a manner more definitive and more 
profound, because of the nature of the motives which he em- 
ploys. He awakens and strengthens in man thoughts which 
must determine and control his whole life. 

Rising higher in our point of view, we see that it is the 
preacher's great prerogative or great mission, to maintain 
faith in invisible things and in a spiritual world, in souls, 
which earthly things are always seeking to absorb ; to be 
among men, a spiritual man and a man of eternity. 

Those who are devoted to the social interests of mankind 
regard the minister as the chief instrument of civilization, in- 



GREATNESS OF THE CALLING. 53 

asmuch as he is the chief agent in advancing general moral- 
ity — asserting and diffusing as much as lies in his power the 
maxims of virtue. Magistrate of consciences, counselor of 
benevolence and of peace, he represents the element of the 
highest social life. Religious instructor of the people, he 
can not be a stranger to the care of their intellectual culture ; 
he is its promoter ; he is every where at the head of popular 
teaching, as well as of the Church ; and in that respect, also, 
the minister of the Gospel is a minister of civilization.* The 
prophet and the priest of the middle ages, as are now the 
missionaries among savage tribes, were ostensibly and openly 
the chiefs of society. All society was more or less theocrat- 
ic at its birth. That was a time when second causes were 
little observed, and when, in all things, there was a direct 
ascent to the first cause. Afterward, men did not take the 
trouble of ascending so high. The same, also, as to the con- 
duct of society. It was only indirectly, and by its influence, 
greater or less, that religion controlled civil order. Since 
then the minister has been placed in an analogous position. 
Society has flot recognized him as its head. But it could not 
but be that the gravest and most solemn affairs of individual 
life and of public life, should be assigned to religion, and of 
course to him ; that a multitude of great interests should, of 
necessity, be confided to him ; that the last depth of the hu- 
man soul should be surrendered to him by religious preoccu- 
pation, the strongest of all. His hour always returns, and 
religion with him penetrates into the midst of interests which 
are surrendered to him. Where religious institutions are fee- 

* All this applies especially to the Christian ministry, for, Christi- 
anity apart, the minister is often, and particularly in these times, the 
representative of the anti-social element and of anarchy, the minis- 
ter of darkness. But even in false religions, at their commencement, 
this was not so. Whatever may be the delusions which are mingled 
with religious traditions, truth has always its place, and civilization 
has had the advantage of it. The necessity for Religion is a noble ne- 
cessity : she has always been the cradle of society. 



54 LIFE CONSECRATED. 

ble, where the Church is no longer a reality, the pastor only 
remains ; it is to him that we look. It is with the pastor as 
with the Sabbath. Happy he to whom all days are Sab- 
baths ; happy the time when the importance of the ministry 
shall diminish because all Christians will be ministers. 

His every-day life, instead of being trivial, like that of the 
greater part of men, is serious. His functions pertain to the 
foundations and roots of human life. He is brought into con- 
tact, by his ministry, with all that life has, which is serious 
and most affecting. Its great pauses or halts, its great con- 
cerns, appertain to him— birth, marriage, death. 

His life is a life of consecration, without which it has no 
meaning. His career is a perpetual sacrifice, which includes 
all that belongs to him. His family is'consecrated ; it belongs 
to the ministry, and partakes of its privations : Even as Je- 
sus came into the world not to be served, but to serve, so of 
the ministry ; and this is its glory : "To serve God is to 
reign." He seeks the glory of God directly ; he seeks it again 
in serving men ; for to serve men from love to God, is to 
serve God. A minister is a man of benevolence and com- 
passion. And this is every one's impression ; every one, even 
the natural man, demands charity of the minister. No one 
will observe cruelty, avarice, coldness, the want of kindness 
iu him, without reproaching him with it. Benevolence and 
kindness belong essentially to Christianity. In nations not 
Christian, even among the Jews, the priest has not at all 
this character, and sometimes he is considered as a terrible 
and wicked being. But now the most unbelieving person 
thinks that Christianity is the religion of kindness. A min- 
ister is a man to whom God hath said, " Comfort ye, com- 
fort ye my people." He is among men the representative of 
the idea of mercy, and he represents it by transferring it into 
his own proper life. To impart succor, that is his ministry, 
that is his life. 

In short, the ministry, at least in the Protestant Church 



FAITH S POINT OF VIEW. 55 

and among Presbyterians,* can not at its outset present an 
object of ambition, though possibly it may end in this. One 
pastor can be distinguished from another only by a more com- 
modious post, more agreeable circumstances. It is a noble 
thing to see his ambition definitely arrested, his desires imper- 
atively restricted. Man is but too much harassed by his de- 
sires. He is as a sick person agitated by fever, who knows 
not on which side to turn. Nothing can tranquillize him but 
that which shuts the door against his desires. A minister is 
no more confined to his ministry than another man to his pro- 
fession, and he may satisfy the demand of his nature for de- 
velopment, which is one of the privileges and characteristics 
of humanity. But what distinguishes him is, that, once a 
minister, he is all that he can be externally ; his place is 
taken, and he must never forsake it. 

Let us now take a higher point of view, that of Christian 
faith. The dignity and excellence of the ministry proceed, 

1. From the excellence of the doctrine which it teaches. 
This is a "wisdom among them that are perfect" (1 Cor., 
ii., 6) ; that is to say, a wisdom which renders men as per- 
fect as they can be ; not giving an appearance or a part of 
the truth, but the truth itself and the whole truth. Noth- 
ing is greater than this mission. He who on any subject 
has infallibly the truth, is already a great personage. Jesus 
Christ, in the presence of Pilate, associates the royalty of 
truth with the testimony he rendered to it. His business, in 
fact, is with truth, with supreme truth, with that which ex- 
plains and governs life, with truth as pertaining to the rela- 
tions of man with God. What more exalted work than that 
of preaching it ! And this is the pastor's mission. 

2. From the fact that its doctrine is a Divine revelation. 

* The context seems to require this designation to be understood 
here in its comprehensive sense, or as embracing all denominations 
that hold the parity of the ministry. — Tr. 



5(> faith's point of view. 

Oracles have been confided to it. " These are things which 
eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into 
the heart of man, and which God hath prepared for them 
that love him." — 1 Cor., ii., 9. The minister is then the 
direct messenger of God himself. " He that receive th yon 
receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that 
sent me." — Matt., x., 40. 

3. From the fact that " the minister is a laborer with 
God" (1 Cor., iii., 15), who makes himself one with him ; 
becomes surety for him, promises to work for him and by him. 

4. From the fact that he announces and offers salvation. 
If the ministry was one of condemnation, if the pastor preach- 
ed on God's behalf the law only, though he would fulfill his 
work with anguish and terror, it would nevertheless be an 
excellent one. But as God has made his glory to consist in 
pardoning, so he has put glory on the ministry of pardon. 
Hence St. Paul, speaking not only of the two economies, but 
the two ministries, says, " God hath made us able ministers 
of the New Testament ; not of the letter, but of the Spirit ; 
for the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life. But if the 
ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was 
glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly 
behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance, 
which glory was to be done away, how shall not the minis- 
tration of the Spirit be rather glorious ? For if the minis- 
tration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the min- 
istration of righteousness exceed in glory. For even that 
which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by 
reason of the glory that excelleth." — 2 Cor., iii., 6-10. It 
is, moreover, very manifest, that as the glory of the mercy 
of God consists of two inseparable elements, mercy itself and 
the fruits of righteousness, the glory of the Christian minis- 
try is also composed of these two elements. This is what 
Isaiah had in view in these words : " How beautiful upon 
the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, 



SUMMARY ESTIMATE. 57 

that publisheth peace ; that bringeth good tidings of good, 
that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy God 
reigneth!" — Is., lii., 7. 

These two elements are embraced in the power to loose 
and to bind conferred on the apostles, and after them on all 
Christian ministers.— Matth., xviii., 18. The minister can 
not bind without loosing, nor loose without binding. He 
binds, when he binds the conscience, by adamantine chains 
and mystic ties, to a perfect law ; he looses in detaching us 
from the law of commands, in proclaiming abolition of servi- 
tude, and amnesty from God. These two things are two 
poles which always correspond to each other. 

It is true that the minister is a savor of death to him to 
whom he is not a savor of life ; " the chief stone of the cor- 
ner is also a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense" (1 
Peter, ii., 7) ; and the condemnation of him who hears with- 
out believing is so much the greater ; but this necessary con- 
sequence of the nature of the ministry which he exercises de- 
tracts nothing from its excellence. 

To say all in a word, let us transfer to the ministry all 
the excellence of Christianity ; let-us impute to it all the ben- 
efits of Christianity, since it produces and perpetuates them ; 
or, if we choose, let us measure its excellence by that of 
Christianity ; we shall have said enough.* 

k 6. The Difficulties and Advantages of the Evangelical 
Ministry. 

After having established the excellence of the ministry, it 
may seem idle to adjust the balance of the advantages and 
disadvantages which it may offer as a profession, or as a state, 
to those who may consecrate themselves to it. But, although 

* See Erasmus, on the dignity of the ministry. This passage has 
been translated by Roques, in the Pasteur Evangelique, page 190. 
Appendix, note F. 

C 2 



68 DIFFICULTIES OF THE MINISTRY. 

this excellence removes, as to him who recognizes and feels 
it, the entire question, and although, as to him who does not 
perceive or recognize it, the question of the advantages or 
inconveniences of a state which he should not embrace, has 
not even the interest of curiosity, I think I ought not to place 
myself in a point of view so absolute, and ought to reason as if 
the second question had an interest independently of the first. 
Let us begin with the difficulties, the troubles, and the 
dangers. It is a very different thing whether Ave contem- 
plate the ministry at a distance or near at hand, and it is 
important to bring it close to us. At a distance, though we 
may have a general view of it, it is impossible to have a true 
knowledge of its duties. " For which of you, intending to build 
a tower, sitteth not down first and counteth the cost, whether 
he have sufficient to finish it." — Luke, xiv., 28-30. With- 
out doubt, it is necessary to be a Christian, cost what it may, 
and of that necessity I conclude that the expense is too great 
for no one ; but the quality of the pastor is not identical with 
that of a Christian ; it adds itself to it, it makes an increase, 
and it is this increase which must be supported. We should 
examine whether the cost is too great for us. We shall thus 
avoid painful and discouraging surprises. 

There are two ways of conducting this examination. The 
first is to examine all the extreme positions, the extraordinary 
situations, the most perilous cases. If there is any thing trag- 
ic in the life of a Christian, there is much more reason to 
expect it in that of the pastor, who is the Christian by emi- 
nence. The second way is to examine the ordinary cases. 
The difference does not lie in the nature of these cases, but 
in their frequency. 

The extraordinary cases are so called because, by the good- 
ness of God, they are rare ; but it can not be superfluous to 
speak of them. There are times when " those who build a 
wall work with one hand, and with the other hold a sword." 
— Nehemiah, iv., 17. Perhaps the present is such a time. It 



DIFFICULTIES OF THE MINISTRY. 59 

is not that which stands forth to the eyes that makes times 
ordinary or extraordinary ; in reality, the times are more or 
less what we make them. We may make all times sublime, 
even as we may render the most extraordinary ones common. 
The ministry is always extraordinary. There is a heroic 
way of conceiving of it, and that alone is the true way. The 
minister, by office, is a devoted man ; and to avoid mistake, 
we must elevate the office to its greatest height, and see it 
in its most difficult positions. We are always prone to take 
low views,, and how fatal the consequences of seeking one's 
ideal at mid height, instead of at the summit ! If we would 
not, then, have inferior views, we must take the most uncom- 
mon cases, and ask ourselves whether we are ready to accept, 
the ministry of missionaries in savage countries, the ministry 
of the martyrs. It is necessary, at the outset, to suppose al- 
most impossibilities, if we would have the idea of the ministry. 
In any position in which it is exercised, the ministry is always 
what it is ; nothing will change it — neither easy nor difficult 
times. For a moment God may leave us in an easy position ; 
but the ministry implies the most dangerous situations ; it is 
always a complete sacrifice of body and soul to the service of 
the Church. It is necessary, then, to place before us the 
greatest difficulties, not only that we may have an extraor- 
dinary spirit in ordinary times, but because that which ap- 
pears impossible to us is not so. 

The history of the Church is composed of a succession of trou- 
bles and of peace ; and these periods are unforeseen. The deep- 
est perturbations are not always announced by sure, and espe- 
cially by distant presages. The sky is serene in the evening ; 
the next day a storm bursts forth, and the stormy weather can 
not be anticipated. It is still as it was in the time of Noah : 
" Until the day when he entered into the ark, they married 
and were given in marriage, and knew not till the flood came 
and took them all away." — Matt., xxiv., 38, 39 ; Luke, xvii., 
27. Our age depends very much on institutions and on their 



80 DIFFICULTIES OF THE MINISTRY 

force ; and, without doubt, they are of vast power ; but mean- 
while evils are of rapid growth.* In the midst of civiliza- 
tion, human nature remains always in a savage state ; it is 
only tamed by society. There are passions which only sleep 
in the heart of man ; and in spite of the security procured by 
social institutions, we are never secure against the hatred of 
the Gospel, which is always living in the heart of man, and 
which shows itself all the stronger as Christianity advances. 
We must, then, regard as probable, revolutions and persecu- 
tions, even as we do natural calamities. Storms will beat, 
especially upon Christianity ; it will draw to itself more of 
hatred and more of love ; its normal condition is neither of 
absolute affliction nor absolute peace. It is not essentially 
dependent on peace ; God gives it peace to temper it anew. 
But a long calm might be fatal to it ; it must have trouble 
and tempest. 

Every one, then, before he enters into the ministry, ought 
to represent vividly to himself these critical periods, and to 
ask himself, What shall I do ? It will perhaps be neces- 
sary that, in a pestilence or time of war, I should give my 
life for my flock, as Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. 
Shall I be able to do it ? In our time there is no persecu- 
tion, except that we are sometimes ridiculed. This time 
may change ; we may be persecuted, that is to say, menaced 
in our goods, in our families, in our persons. Such a situa- 
tion is as normal as any other. It is not more natural or 
more regular to go tranquilly to church, and to worship in 
peace, than to go to the stake, to be persecuted in our wives 
and children, to encounter the wrath of the great of the 
earth, and to perish under their strokes ; to be exiled, or to 
exercise the ministry in extreme poverty : we may even say 
that peace is the exception. There are, moreover, other crises 
besides external ones. There are times as difficult as those 

* In the French, les ongles repoussent vite. This figure can not 
well be retained in the translation. — Tr. 



IN EX-TRAORDIi\AKY CASES. 61 

of persecution ; such are times of heresy and error, when the 
greater Dart of the clergy do not preach the Gospel. Then 
we must contend for the truth, and not fear sacrifices. Even 
now we see error and heresy raising their head ; we have to 
combat those who would weaken the Gospel ; we ought, of 
course, to expect calumnies and the hatred of the multitude. 

In our country the ministry may be exercised now in a 
position substantially independent ; but is it certain that this 
will last, and that we shall not one day be called to exercise 
it in poverty ? The time of sujfraganship* is already some- 
what severe ; but, though evil in one sense, it has neverthe- 
less its blessing ; the calling is purified by these trials. 

We must not fear to bring before us the gloomy view of 
the ministry. Let us say to ourselves that in this career he- 
roism is necessary. All pastors ought to be heroes, for Chris- 
tianity even in the people is heroism ; a Christian is in spirit 
a hero, a hero potentially. The right of Protestant minis- 
ters to have a family does not change their position ; it only 
renders their self-consecration more difficult. The priest is 
by himself. The Protestant minister unquestionably is not 
exempted from any sacrifice. He must, if necessary, surren- 
der his life ; and all his sacrifices must be the more severe 
that his family must partake of them. To devote himself is 
his business. Why should this devotion be more painful to 
him than to the physician, for example, about whom no one 
asks if he be married ? 

We will now consider the evangelical ministry in ordinary 
times, no longer in those of conflict and persecution. With- 
out excluding any situation, our observations will apply to 
the greater number of cases ; to that which is the most ordi- 
nary, the situation of a country pastor. 

The ministry, according to Gregory Nazianzen, " is a tem- 
pest of the spirit." Chrysostom says, that " a bishop is more 
Fr., suffragance. See Part IV., chapter iii. 



62 DIFFICULTIES OF THE MINISTRY 

agitated with cares and storms, than the sea with winds and 
tempests."^ 

1 . The difficulty of governing by purely moral means a 
multitude of very different minds and dispositions. There 
are combined in this multitude many elements which do not 
agree among themselves. It is his work to govern them, and 
to secure not only an external, but an internal obedience. He 
must subjugate not only acts, but thoughts, and reduce them 
to unity, and all this by persuasion ; "for the weapons of our 
warfare are not carnal." — 2 Cor., x., 4. Political government 
is, in one sense, more easy ; there are material means, there 
is opinion, for government is more or less the expression of 
society. It can do no more than society in its best elements 
decides, it follows society. The pastor has to conduct men 
where they would not go ; he has to induce them to receive 
unlooked-for ideas which man is not disposed to receive, and 
which he regards as foolishness. We hence see the immense 
difficulty of pastoral government. The Gospel unquestiona- 
bly contains the elements of humanity, of true humanity. It 
corresponds to the interior man, the conscience, which it 
reaches by traversing the outward man, which intercepts the 
light. The inward man, in his darkness, stretches out a 
hand toward the Gospel ; there is in him a secret intelligence. 
But what obstacles are to be surmounted ! how difficult is it 
to tie the two threads ! 

St. Gregory, in developing the idea of the diversity of sen- 
timents and characters, remarks, that the truth is one, but 
that it is now meat, now milk, according to different individ- 
uals. Now we must give to each the nourishment which 
agrees with him.f Certain truths repel some, attract others, 

* De Sacerdotio. 

t " The art of arts, the science of sciences, appears to me to be 
that of directing men, the most varied and the most changeable of 
beings." — Gregory Nazianzen, Apology. In the same book, man is 
represented (kuos (dov awQtTov xai avo^oiov). See the passage on dif- 



IN ORDINARY TIMJB8. 63 

smother some, and save others ; we must give the same truth 
under different forms to different individuals. Pastoral gov- 
ernment is that of individualities ; the civil law does not em- 
barrass itself with differences of character. 

Thus the first characteristic of ministerial excellence is also 
its first difficulty. 

2. Much Labor. — The poor, the sick, schools, good offices 
of charity, pacific interventions, official correspondence, ser- 
mons, catechisings. The multitude and the weight of these 
offices does not authorize the neglect of the sermon, which is 
the only means of reaching certain individuals, and the cate^ 
chism, which in some degree gives us the guidance of each 
generation. But this enumeration does not express all, for 
where the ministry is not perfectly fulfilled, it must gain in 
depth what it loses in breadth. The smallest parish should 
become, by the zeal of him who cultivates it, as onerous as 
the largest ; this work has no limit, no spot where the mate- 
rial fails.* And he must seek for remoter occasions when 
nearer ones are wanting. He is not a true follower of the 
first of ministers who is not eaten up by the zeal of God's 
house. To give an idea of the extent of pastoral labor, let 
us say, that all the extension which, in another profession, the 
highest enthusiasm, or the most boundless ambition might 
suggest to the man who exercises it, is but the exact meas- 

ferent wants, according to different degrees of intelligence and cul- 
ture : " Some need to be nourished with milk, with the most simple 
and elementary lessons ; but others with that wisdom which is en- 
tertained only among the perfect, a nourishment more strong and sol- 
id. If we should give to these latter milk to drink and pulse to eat, 
food for the feeble, they would be dissatisfied, and certainly with rea- 
son, not being strengthened according to Christ," &c. 

* A single soul is enough to occupy a priest, for in the ways and 
works of salvation each soul and each man is as a great world, though 
very small as to his natural qualities. Thus a priest can do the more 
for a soul the fewer he has to govern. — Saint Cyran, Pensies sur 
la Sacerdoce. 



64 DIFFICULTIES OF THE MINISTRY 

tire of that which is contained in the simplest idea of the pas- 
toral office. 

3. Uniform Labor. — There are labors more uniform, but 
the kind of work compensates for its uniformity. The evil 
effects of uniformity are especially perceived in delicate mat- 
ters, and matters of feeling ;* they are much less serious in 
other professions where there is less to lose, a less delicate point 
to be blunted. Functions which rest upon feeling at length 
become insupportable, if the Spirit of God does not incessantly 
revive it. If uniformity is any where to be feared, it is in 
the exercise of the ministry. How can one but fear when a 
solemn duty presents itself, and when all is frozen within ; 
when around him all is great, and within his soul all is lit- 
tle ! Before a scene of death, for example, habit may leave 
your heart cold. Here is great danger, and if there were no 
remedy, it would be necessary to renounce the ministry. But 
there is one. 

This uniform work is without the prospects and chances of 
other professions ; we can not ascend in the social hierarchy. 
We must say to ourselves, I must all my life be doing the 
same thing, without any change — without any extension of 
my worldly horizon. 

4. Work ill ajypr eci at ed.— It is so by the greater part of 
people, at least in respect of its intensity and its weight. 
Country people, in particular, regard as an idler him who 
does not work with his hands ; they do not understand how 
the work of the mind can be work. Still, the work of the 
understanding finds those who appreciate it ; but the work of 
the heart, prayer, spiritual care for one's flock, who sees la- 
bor in that ? The pastor must consent to be but little under- 
stood. 

5. Many sorrowful and sad functions ; for the principle 
occasion of religion and the ministry is suffering. What sad 

* Corruptio optimi pessima. There are few examples such as that 
of the priest, cited by Marmontel. 



IN ORDINARY TIMES. 65 

discoveries in this circumnavigation of human misery ! The 
Gospel is a moral pharmacopoeia. There is a Gospel, because 
there are evils to be cured. The minister goes to those who 
are spiritually sick, but also to those who are sick in body, 
or suffering from affliction of any kind. Sickness or sorrow 
is often the only porter that can open a house to him. What 
a sorrowful entrance ! One more readily participates in the 
miseries of the body, in the dissolution seen every day by the 
physician, than in the miseries of the soul. The view of 
moral evil, and especially its analysis, withers and corrupts, 
if one has received the fearful gift of knowing man without 
knowing God. The true minister certainly knows God, but 
the fiery darts of the wicked one sometimes find a defect in 
his armor. One may, in this way, become a misanthrope, 
and see the fire of charity quenched in himself. 

In short, the minister has pains of heart, as little understood 
by the greater part of men as the pastor's work is little ap- 
preciated. Thus, when he finds a hard but hypocritical heart, 
which has eluded all the efforts of his charity ; that a soul 
has not been saved, on account of circumstances which, per- 
haps, he might have foreseen, no one can understand what 
he suffers ; and yet to be understood is the greatest compen- 
sation of our sorrows. 

6. The sacrifice of many even innocent Tastes. — He must 
often renounce things innocent in themselves, but which would 
scandalize the weak. The measure of this interdiction varies, 
but still it exists. 

7. Talents lost, rusting in Obscurity. — It can not be that 
every man of talent should be placed in a situation in which 
he will be appreciated. This business is not an indulgence 
of self-love, but an exercise of activity. It is a sacrifice, but 
he must make it. And, at any rate, the world is full of 
hidden talents. This is the divine arrangement ; we are 
not responsible for it, and must accept it without murmur- 
ing. 



66 DIFFICULTIES OF THE MINISTRY 

8. Painful isolation to him who has known the charms 
of Social Life, and the intercourse of kindred Minds. 

9. A species of Defiance and of Fear ivhich the Pastor in- 
spires. — For many people he is the representative of the sor- 
rowful side of human existence. The minister seems to wear 
the mourning of life. His own life is grave, and gravity al- 
ways borders on sadness. This exiles him into a kind of sol- 
itude, which still more increases that which he is obliged to 
make for himself on account of the nature of his position. 

10. The double Danger of pleasing and of displeasing 
the World. — If we please it, we cling to this success, and 
wish to make sure of it for the future : it is hard to see one's 
self deserted after having been caressed : Apart from all self- 
love, it is painful to give up the good- will of one's equals, 
and not to live at peace with all men. If we displease it, it 
saddens or irritates us, and we do every thing to displease it 
still further.* We may abuse the idea that truth offends ; 
we may wish to add to this unpopularity of the truth, before 
it has subjugated the heart. The minister should conciliate 
the affection of the members of his flock ; and if he is unpop- 
ular, he should examine his conduct, to see if the unpopular- 
ity does not proceed from himself. However that may be, 
the two dangers exist ; we coast along two abysses. 

1 1 . Self-love is very active in a Profession ivhich exposes 
us to Observation, and which is Intellectual, and conversant 
vnth Art and Literature. — The minister may assemble the 
people to hear him on any subject he chooses. It would not 
be surprising if for this reason many had embraced the pio- 
fession. The flock then becomes as the public, the auditory 
a tribunal. The position of the minister is false ; his noble 
independence and his authority are compromised ; he im- 
poses a yoke upon himself. He no longer preaches God, he 
preaches himself; and by a sacrilege, of which it is difficult 

* See John Newton, Omicron, vol. i., p. 142, 146, Letter xiii., On 
the Dangers to which the Minister of the Gospel is exposed. 



IN ORDINARY TIMES. 67 

to measure the extent, the pulpit becomes a theatre, a stage 
for his vanity. This word seems hard ; and yet, in examin- 
ing ourselves, we find it is often only too just. At the close 
of triumphant orations the pastor may receive praises ; at 
each praise a reproach will resound in his heart. Happy for 
him if he preferred to these praises the silent respect of one 
faithful soul, that has listened to him in retirement, and 
whose heart he has touched ! a victory how much greater 
than to have excited a fruitless admiration ! 

Self-love is our most terrible enemy, because it is our near- 
est. Every one covets praise ; but there is a strong self-love 
that has no bound, which is vanity ; as there is also a feeble 
self-love which is moderate. We baptize the latter with the 
name of modesty. This is not a virtue, it is a natural qual- 
ity, a simple mark of good sense. There is a great distance 
between modesty and humility : True humility is a miracle. 
A supernatural grace is necessary to impart it to a minister. 
Nothing but love can remove self-love from the throne of his 
heart. Love is an ardent, passionate preoccupation, which 
withdraws from every thing that is not allied to itself, from 
blame and from praise alike. Conversion essentially consists 
in love. We must love the flock in order to preach to it 
well. 

There is one form of self-love which manifests itself more 
in the ministry than in any other profession : it is the love 
of authority. The pastor in his parish is the only one of his 
class ; he is called to command. In public, at least, no one 
may dispute with him ; he has the monopoly of the word. 
Often he has to do with the poor, who show a great respect 
for him because they are more or less dependent on him. 
This habit of command, so easily formed, narrows and fals- 
ifies his view, and alienates those who can not sacrifice their 
tastes to his. Chrysostom has developed with admirable 
force the dangers of self-love in the ministry.^ 

* Chrysostom : De Sacerdotio, p. 270, 281, 287, lib. v., 1, 4, 7, 8. 



68 DIFFICULTIES OF THE MINISTRY 

The danger of self-love is greater with the Protestant than 
with the Catholic, who speaks much less. It is difficult for 
the Protestant minister not to give himself up in some meas- 
ure to the idea of being a good orator. At all events, a good 
preacher is a good orator. And in seeking perfection for its 
own sake, it is very difficult not to seek to please, were it 
only one's self. This leads us to regard in the ideas which 
are presented only a neutral substratum, which has no value 
except from the form which is given to them. 

12. Internal conflicts betiueen Faith and Doubt (in Ger- 
man, Anfechtimgen) perhaps more frequent and more pro- 
found with the pastor than with the private Christian, and 
in the midst of which he must pursue the work of the min- 
istry. Doubt, as a psychological fact, has been little studied. 
There is philosophical doubt, and the doubt of ignorance ; we 
have nothing to do with these. But are there only these ? 
Is there not a state in which the best proofs leave us in doubt ? 
The intellectual proofs are present, but the soul is not con- 
vinced. Christian assurance is a different thing from the as- 
surance of the understanding. Doubt is a negative state, a 
state of temptation through which all have passed. When 
life is feeble, faith is feeble. Faith increases life, but life 
sustains faith. Faith is a vision ; when it is not so, it de- 
scends to the rank of believing. Faith is one thing, but it 
has its degrees ; and if, in such a situation, one might retire, 
withdraw himself, interrupt works which all imply faith, he 
would not be so unhappy ; but he can not ; he must always 
preach. Every one may find himself in the state into which 
Richard Baxter fell, and perceive himself all at once in an 
absolute void, where every thing vanishes, not excepting fun- 
damental beliefs. This state is frightful. To come out of 
it, we must stir up ourselves to try anew all the powers of 
the spirit in fervent prayer. 

Gregory Nazianzen expresses himself thus : "In every spiritual func- 
tion the rule is, to neglect personal interest for that of others." 



IN ORDINARY TIMES. 69 

13. Internal Humiliation on perceiving in ourselves the 
Man at so great a distance from the Preacher. — Has not 
the most faithful man sometimes hecome weak, and felt him- 
self reproved by these words : " What hast thou to do to de- 
clare my statutes, and to take my covenant into thy mouth, 
seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind 
thee?"— Ps. 1., 16, 17. 

14. The agonizing Thought, that one bears in his Hands 
the Destinies of so many Souls, and that he exercises a Min- 
istry which kills, if it does not give Life. — It kills, in ag- 
gravating the condemnation of those who might, but do not 
profit by it. Thus it is with a faithful ministry. As to him 
who exercises it without fidelity, and whose life does not cor- 
respond to his word, it kills in another manner.* And this 
thought, that the scandals we give are the greatest of all, 
and that the least unfaithfulness in us has the gravest con- 
sequences, is enough to frighten us, and make us say, " Lord, 
send by whom thou wilt send." Let us hear Massillon : 
" The Gospel, to the greater part of the people, is the life of 
the priests of which they are witnesses." And this will al- 
ways be so in the bosom of Protestantism. " They regard 
the public ministry as a stage designed for the exhibition of 
the great maxims which are beyond the reach of human 
weakness ; but they regard our life as the reality, and the 
true standard to which they should conform." And further, 
" We are pillars of the sanctuary, which, if overthrown and 
cast about in public places, become stones of stumbling to 
passengers."! 

15. The most deplorable case is when these wounds, which 

* " Par fois li communal clergie, 

Voi-je malement engignie, 
Icil font le siecle mescroire." 

La Bible Guyot (Troizieme Sidcle). 
t Massillon : Discovers sur V excellence du Sacerdoce. First Reflec- 
tion, near the end. 



70 ADVANTAGES OF THE MINISTRY. 

the consolations of God alone should heal, become healed by 
habit, and by a false resignation — a case which too often oc- 
curs. As it has been said, " repeated repentance wears out 
the soul,"^ and puts it, so to speak, out of humor with itself. 
All these troubles are painful, but there are many of them 
which it is more hurtful to avoid than grievous to submit to ; 
and all need to be foreseen, and, as it were, tasted beforehand. 

To this enumeration, perhaps incomplete, and of which no 
trait, perhaps, is presented strongly enough, we may with con- 
fidence oppose, as a compensation, the following advantages : 

Religion, which is the most excellent thing, and the whole 
concern of man, is the minister's office and duty for all days 
and all hours ; that which mingles itself with the life of 
other men constitutes his life. 

He lives in the midst of the loftiest and sublimest ideas, 
and of occupations of the highest utility. 

He is called to do nothing but good ; nothing obliges him, 
nothing entices him to do evil. 

He occupies no rank in the social hierarchy, belongs to no 
class, but serves as a bond to all ; representing in himself 
better than any other, the ideal unity of society. The min- 
ister, it is true, is not so well situated in this respect as the 
unmarried priest. But yet he may have this privilege when 
he wishes it. 

This life, unless circumstances are veiy unfavorable, is the 
most proper realization of the ideal of a happy life. It has a 
great regularity, a sort of uniform calm, where, perhaps, is 
to be found the true place of earthly happiness. The pre- 
dilection of poets and romancers for the character of a coun- 
try pastor is not without foundation. All this is true only on 
the supposition that the pastor is faithful, and filled with the 
spirit of his profession. If he has this spirit, all is counter- 
balanced, corrected, transformed ; and it suffices him, with- 
* Allusion to a passage from Corinne, book x., c. v. — Editor. 



ADVANTAGES OF THE MINISTRY. 71 

out minutely weighing the inconveniences and advantages, 
to make one reflection : " Jesus Christ assigns to his minis- 
ters painful trials, internal and external, to the end that they 
may sympathize with their flock, and know, from their own 
heart, the seduction of sin, the infirmities of the flesh, and 
the manner in which the Lord sustains and supports all 
those who trust in him.* So that, in a certain degree, one 
may transfer to the minister what has been said of Jesus 
Christ : " We have not a high-priest who can not he touched 
with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all things 
tempted as we are." — Heb., iv., 15. 

In short, the word of God, directly or indirectly, blesses pe- 
culiarly his labors and his estate. 

It declares (remark the gradation) that " those who are 
wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and those 
who turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever." 
— Dan., xii., 3. 

In promising to the immediate ministers of Jesus Christ 
that, in the renovation of all things, "'they shall sit upon 
thrones, to judge the twelve tribes of Israel," it presents to 
their successors proportional honors and rewards. — Matt., 
xix., 28. 

It so honors and blesses the ministry, that even to those 
who aid it special promises are given : "He who receiveth a 
prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive a prophet's 
reward."=Matt., x., 41. 



§ 7. Call to the Evangelical Ministry. 

But the advantages of the present life which we have men- 
tioned, and the promises of the life to come to which we have 
referred, will be, the first wholly deceptive, the second with- 
out effect, for the minister who becomes one without a call 
to the ministry. We must put a call into the balance as a 
* John Newton : Cardiphonia, vol. iii., p. 12. 



72 



NECESSITY OF VOCATION 



weight, to raise that other scale, so full of griefs and fatigues, 
which the want of a call not only does not mitigate, but 
fearfully aggravates. Apart from a call, all the advantages 
vanish ; some also of the disadvantages will disappear, and 
there remains a life the most false, and, consequently, the 
most unhappy, that can be imagined. 

It is always unhappy to be unequal to the business which 
we have to perform, or to feel ourselves out of sympathy with 
it ; but this unhappiness is inexpressible in the case of the 
ministry, and nothing can save us from it but insensibility or 
degradation ; while, though every thing be adverse, and the 
trials of the ministry be carried to the highest degree imag- 
inable, a call corrects every thing, renders every thing agree- 
able, and makes these troubles themselves an element of 
happiness. 

But it is not only under the aspect of happiness or unhap- 
piness that we must contemplate the subject. The minis- 
ter without a call is not only unhappy, he is guilty ; he oc- 
cupies a place, he exercises a right which does not belong to 
him. He is, as Jesus Christ said, a hireling and a robber, 
who has not entered by the door, but by a breach. 

The word call has, when applied to professions of a tem- 
poral order, only a figurative signification ; at least, we only 
so understand it. It is equivalent to talent, aptitude, taste. 
It has been natural to represent these terms as voices, as 
calls. But, applied to the ministry, the word approaches its 
proper sense. "When conscience commands, and obliges us to 
discharge a certain task, we have that which, next to a mir- 
acle, merits best the name of a call. And it must be noth- 
ing less. To exercise legitimately the ministry, we must have 
been called to it. 

I do not wish, however, to draw too strictly the line of dis- 
tinction between the ministry and temporal professions in re- 
spect to a call. Wherever there is responsibility, wherever 
one may do injury in charging himself with a work which is 



IN THE TWO TESTAMENTS. 73 

not his, there is room for inquiring whether he is called to 
it. And even between two occupations, to one of which he 
is better suited than to the other, and in one of which he may 
be more useful than the other, there is one to which, in a 
Christian point of view, we may say he is called. 

This idea is consecrated in the Old Testament, all the 
parts of which, provided they are spiritualized, may be trans- 
ferred to the New. No one was a prophet to his superior, 
at least in the special sense of the word prophet; for there 
is another sense in which prophesying belongs to all, as for- 
cibly appears from the beautiful words of Moses, " "Would to 
God that all the Lord's people were prophets." — Num., xi., 
29. He fulfilled an extraordinary vocation because it con- 
ferred extraordinary powers. Whatever may be the author- 
ity of the pastor, in one sense, it will always remain inferior 
to that of the prophet. # Now prophets could not be in- 
vested with such an authority without an express call ; and 
we understand, in this view of the case, the threatenings de- 
nounced against those who should prophesy without a call : 
" If a prophet shall presume to speak in my name a word 
which I have not commanded him to speak, that prophet 
shall die." — Deut., xviii., 20. " Say thou to them that proph- 
esy out of their own heart, Woe to the foolish prophets that 
follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing !"f — Ezek., 
xiii., 2, 3. " I am against the prophets that steal my words." 
— Jer., xxiii., 30. 

Mutatis mutandis, the necessity of a call remains, and on 
this point, as on others, we only need to translate the Old 
Testament in the language of the New. The ages are des- 
tined to replace one another, but the foundation of eternal 
truth remains always the same. It is ever true, then, that 

* See Isaiah, xxxix., verse 3, seq. 

t This same idea is symbolized in Numbers, i., 51, "When the 
tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up, and the stran- 
ger that cometh nigh shall be put to death." 

D 



74 NECESSITY OF VOCATION. 

in one way or another, to do the work of God, we must be 
called of God. 

Now that the voice of God is not directly and sensibly ad- 
dressed to an individual, to call him to the office of a proph- 
et, we distinguish two sorts of vocation, the one external, the 
other internal ; but it is clear that both, to be true, must be 
of God ; for in either case it must be God who calls. 

Now the external or mediate vocation can have this char- 
acter, in our view, only as we regard the men from whom 
it comes, as having full power, either conferred in casu, or 
conferred once for all on a few, by whom it was conferred on 
others, and so on. This is the Catholic system or pretension: 
we shall not discuss it.* 

In the Protestant system, which denies the Catholic suc- 
cession, and does not pretend to begin a new one, there is 
nothing parallel to this transmission of full powers ; of which, 
moreover, we do not see the object, as this legal transmission 

* In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the question of the 
succession gave rise to many disputes. On this question the Catho- 
lics, with a fixed, absolute doctrine, had a better and a more exactly 
defined position than the Protestants, who, though they discarded the 
priesthood, contended for the succession. Dumoulin earnestly main- 
tained that all the Protestant ministers had been consecrated by Cath- 
olics. This was an error, and it was needless. By the progress of 
time, this pretension has been dropped. The Archbishop of Dublin, 
an Anglican, has shown, with resistless force, that the succession is 
a chimera. According to him, one instance of irregular vocation 
breaks the chain. 1 Tin's idea, however, is of no moment to us : It 
was opposed by Claude, though not always with good arguments. He 
thinks that it is the Church and the pastors united who confer the out- 
ward call. He is not in favor of having the pastors act alone in this 
case, for they may not be believers ; while in the Church there al- 
ways are believers and saints. There is, then, an uninterrupted suc- 
cession in the calls given by this universal and everlasting Church. 
Still, he admits that a flock may sometimes call a pastor without the 
concurrence of other pastors. 

1 SeeWHATELY: Kingdom of Christ. 



EXTERNAL VOCATION. 75 

meets no want which can not be satisfied without it. To 
maintain the necessity for such a transmission, is to displace 
the Holy Spirit. But as our wants are met by a transmis- 
sion of spirit and of life, as we do not need a communication 
of oracles, or the administration of miraculous power ; the or- 
dinary agency of the Holy Spirit suffices. The external call 
then, if it exists, occupies only a subordinate rank, and re- 
mains in the sphere of humanity. 

Moreover, as soon as we compare it with the internal call, 
as soon as we give the latter its proper place, it at once as- 
sumes the superiority. Catholics have not been able to deny 
this ; but not to give it all the ground, and let it absorb the 
external call, they have assigned to this latter extraordinary 
reasons, which we, for our part, can not give to it. And yet 
without these it is not, and can not be, on the one side, more 
than a measure of order ; and, on the other, more than a sub- 
sidy or complement to the internal call. In our system, the 
external call recognizes, as far as possible, the internal, which 
it always presupposes. The judgment respecting what is out- 
ward is here connected with a judgment as to what is intern- 
al, and always assumes the internal as a reality. 

Besides, this whole question may be dismissed. The ne- 
cessity of the internal call, acknowledged by the Catholics as 
well as the Protestants, is all that we are concerned with. 
The point we have to establish is, that without at least an 
internal call from GJ-od, one can not with safety or innocence 
put his hand to the work of the ministry ; or, to speak bet- 
ter, take a place in the Church as a minister of the G-ospel. 
The question as to being called or not called by others, I do 
not discuss. This question, on which there is division, and 
which also does not belong to my subject, I waive, to treat 
only of one on which there is agreement, and which does be- 
long to my subject. 

As it is in the name of another, that is, of God, that a min- 



76 INTERNAL VOCATION. 

ister officiates, he must be sent. The prophet does not say, 
I will go ; he says, " Here am I, Lord ; send me." — Is., vi., 
8. The spontaneity in this matter does not exclude the mis- 
sion or the call. The charge of a pastor is a charge, a min- 
istry. This implies sending or vocation. One can no more 
be a minister without a call, than a magistrate or a judge. 

It also follows that we have no warrant for relying on the 
divine aid and favor unless God has sent us* A minister 
without a call does not, it is true, concern himself as to this ; 
but we are not now considering the extreme case of a min- 
ister who has no sense of the object of his mission, and no 
desire to gain it — one whom the Gospel names plainly a 
thief. A minister without a call may desire to act consist- 
ently with his title, at least in a negative way ; to avoid 
scandal ; to honor his profession ; not to profane the minis- 
try. But how can he be sure even as to this ? how venture 
to expect even this measure of favor, when he occupies an 
office to which he has no right, and when the first means of 
securing the divine favor would be to resign the office ? 

We must, then, be called of God. A call to a ministry 
which is exercised in the name of God, and in which he is 
represented, can emanate only from him.f The business 
here, in fact, is not our's ; it is another's, and that other is 
God : In a word, it is a ministry. Whether external or in- 
ternal, the call ought to be Divine ; and speaking of it in this 
view, we name it mediate or immediate. 

Men mediately called by God must have received full 
powers, either from God, or from other men through whom 
God confers them. If these full powers be denied, the ex- 
ternal or mediate call becomes but a conventional affair, reg- 
ulating the internal relations of a religious society ; not im- 
plying necessarily, but only assuming a general fitness for 
the ministry ; and as to the candidate, it is only one more 

* See Massillon : Discours sur la Vocation a Vetat Ecclesiastique. 
t Ezekiel, iii., 2 ; Jeremiah, xxiii., 21. 



VOCATION MEDIATE OR IMMEDIATE. 7? 

means of establishing his vocation. "We shall defer the con- 
sideration of the subject under this point of view. 

As the ministry is purely moral, not sacramental, the qual- 
ifications for it are purely moral, and an immediate call 
should be sufficient.* 

Accordingly, in one system this call is sufficient, as in both 
it is held to be necessary. In any ecclesiastical system which 
has its basis in Christianity, it can neither be overlooked or 
lightly esteemed. In only one form of government might it 
be superfluous, namely, that of a theocracy supported by mir- 
acles. f Missions like that of Jonah can not be conceived 
under the evangelic law. But where the external call is de- 
clared indispensable, the internal or immediate necessarily 
suffers. 

Catholic writers have always felt embarrassed in explain- 
ing themselves on this point. Saint Cyran, for example, 
manifestly inclining to the interior call, and not well know- 
ing how to dispose of the exterior, thus expresses himself: 
"As he who has not been called to the priesthood by the 
external call of the Church can, in the Church's judgment, 
do nothing useful for her, although he performs the same ex- 
ternal works, administers the same sacraments, and preaches 

* Immediate vocation is external or internal. External, when God 
immediately, by himself, causes his voice to be heard, and his will to 
be known. Such was the miraculous call addressed to the prophets 
by a voice, in apparition or in vision. 

t But even here it has not been represented as superfluous. It is 
not, in every case, necessary to the accomplishment of the divine 
purpose, but to him who accomplishes it it is in every case necessa- 
ry. Jonah and Balaam, in spite of themselves, and not of their own 
choice, executed the will of God. " Send me," said Isaiah (vi., 8) ; 
and the qualification of the messenger has almost always, even un- 
der the old law been regarded of some, and even of much import- 
ance, to the success of the mission. Many things seem to have been 
left at the option of the prophets. Even the Levite, in the fulfill- 
ment of his duties, was permitted, in a small measure, to use his own 
discretion. 



78 CATHOLIC POINT OF VIEW. 

the same Gospel as the other priests who have been regularly- 
called and ordained by the Church, so he who has not the 
interior call of God to the ecclesiastical estate — to the priest's 
office, or to a curacy, can do nothing good for himself in the 
judgment of God, although he does the same good works and 
administers the same sacraments -as the priest whom God 
has called to it."^ 

Those who maintain the sufficiency of the internal call 
may be content with the second part of this paragraph ; and 
the first can not give them much trouble, since they hence 
learn that, although not ordained by the Church, they may 
preach the Gospel. We may, then, do all, for all is included 
in this, unless the administration of the sacrament implies 
miraculous power ; which certainly no one on his own author- 
ity can ascribe to it, and for which the immediate call is not 
sufficient, unless it has in itself a miraculous character. 

But a question presents itself: The immediate call being 
no longer addressed from God to man by a miraculous voice, 
may it not be said that there is no longer an immediate call ? 

This might be said if, in truth, man, apart from super- 
natural communications, has no means of assuring himself 
concerning the will of God in respect to a particular case ; 
and in respect to a choice among many determinations, of 
which each one accords with the general principles of mo- 
rality. 

For it is here, and here only, that the word call is ap- 
plicable. There is no place for a call to the practice of the 
general duties of morality. There is place for one when we 
have to choose between two courses of conduct — two employ- 
ments of our faculties, equally sanctioned by morality and by 
the spirit of the Gospel. 

Now, as the sensible, direct call, expressly from God, is 
wanting, by what can this be supplied ? In other words, 
how may we know that we are called ? Not, certainly, by 
* Saint Cyran: Lettre a M. Guillelert sur le Sacerdoce, c. 25. 



FALSE SIGNS OF VOCATION. 79 

finding ourselves in an agreeable and tranquil position in the 
exercise of the ministry. Nor from our having been devoted 
to the ministry by our parents. The vow of parents, if 
it be serious, may be blessed, and in respect to many pastors 
it may be, in some sense, a preliminary call. A child de- 
voted by his parents to the ministry may hence derive a cer- 
tain preference for it ; but this is not a call to it. Still less 
is constraint. This had influence in the early days of the 
Church : even in the time of Chrysostom the idea of priest 
and of sacrifice was prevalent, which explains how it was 
that constraint itself made an indelible impression. The 
same may be said of signs, which with many persons are de- 
cisive. They first select and then interpret the signs, and 
thus determine their own lot. This with Christians is a 
sort of spiritual sloth — to desire the whole truth, without 
being at the trouble to seek for it, by prayer, labor, and appli- 
cation. While we have conscience and the "Word of God, 
we need no other guide. Finally, no one, surely, will say 
that interest may be taken instead of that direct call from 
God of which we are now speaking. 

But what are the decisive indications ? The call to the 
ministry evidences itself, like every other, by natural means, 
under the direction of the Word and Spirit of God. In 
vocation, the general rule is to satisfy ourselves as to the 
course of life for which we regard ourselves as best suited, 
and in which we think we can be most useful. And in 
this matter, if we would attain to clearness and firmness, we 
should combine in our view circumstances and principles 
which have been established by good sense and God himself. # 

* "I have never conceived of a divine call {goettlicher Bernf) as 
any thing more than an external occasion which has presented it- 
self for doing or realizing something good, under a religious impulse, 
and, of course, through the divine agency." — Plank, Das erste Amts- 
jahr, page 8. 



80 SIGNS OF A TRUE CALL. 

But when we have to do with a moral action, in which the 
soul is the instrument with which we act, we must have re- 
gard to the state of the soul, which, indeed, is the principal 
element in the call. In respect to an ordinary profession, we 
sometimes must abstract the sentiments we have toward it, 
hold ourselves aloof against the attractions of taste, and fol- 
low it uninfluenced by taste. * This is not the general rule ; 
it is rather an exception which is more or less frequent. In 
respect to the ministry, however, the rule is absolute : there 
is no exception. The soul's conformity to the object of the 
ministry is necessary ; and this conformity embraces these ele- 
ments : faith, taste or desire, and fear, f 

As to faith or belief in the reality of the objects — the truth 
of the message we bear as ministers — there is no need either 
of explanation or proof. As to desire, this must be added to 
faith, in order to constitute a call ; for if faith were sufficient, 
every Christian ought to be a minister. We must not say 
that faith includes desire. It does, indeed, include the gen- 
eral desire of living as far as we can to the glory of God, but 
not the particular desire of having the ministry as our work, 
and of consecrating to this work our whole life. The insti- 
tution of the ministry supposes, as its ground, that every one 
is not called to the work of the ministry. But, when fitness 
for the ministry exists, will not this supply the place of desire, 
and be sufficient evidence of a call ? Fitness, we reply, does 
not exist when the desire does not. When the desire is want- 
ing (and we have seen that it may be wanting in a true Chris- 
tian), there is not that harmony of the man with his duties, 
that intimate understanding of the matter, that undivided 
heart, which are so essential to the success of the work. "We 
do not say that a Christian will do no good who engages in 
this work without a taste for it ; we only say that he has no 
call, and that he ought to leave this office to others, except 

* In this sense there may he a vocatio db as well as a vocatio ad. 
t " Rejoice with trembling." — Psalm ii., 11. 



SIGNS OF A TRUE CALL. 81 

when the peculiarity of time or place may, as it were, prov- 
identially impose it on him. In the absence of all proper in- 
struments, God seems to say, as in the prophet, " Whom shall 
I send ?" and seems to expect from every or any one who 
has the requisite ability the reply of the prophet, " Here am 
I ; send me/'* 

But, though desire is the first sign of vocation, it is an 
equivocal sign. It is necessary to ascertain well its object. 
It is necessary to know whether it be the ministry itself, or 
something in the ministry, which suits our taste. The taste, 
the inclination, we feel for the ministry may be superficial, car- 
nal, erroneous as to the object. It may be that what we like 
in the ministry is a respectable and honored profession, or the 
sphere and the occasions which it offers for the exercise of 
talents with which we may think ourselves endowed ; the 
power of public speaking,! moral views which are not strictly 
religious ;$ or a vague religious sentimentalism ; or an unre- 
flecting enthusiasm, an ideal image, the poetry of the thing. 
The imagination, in these questions, is apt to take the place 
of the conscience and the heart. 

Newton gives an excellent rule for deciding whether we 
have a true desire for the ministry. " I hold it," he says, " a 
good rule to inquire whether the desire to preach is most fer- 
vent in our most lively and spiritual frames, or when we are 
laid in the dust before the Lord. If so, it is a good sign. But 
if, as is sometimes the case, a person is very earnest to be a 

* Isaiah, vi., 8. The absence of taste is not repugnance, disgust 
for the ministry, which can not exist in a Christian — it is often but a 
taste for something else. 

t An object of ambition to one class of minds far above the com- 
mand of armies or civil empire. The pulpit, as a means of gaining 
it, is not surpassed by the forum or the senate-house. — Transl. 

t The ministry favors all the interests of general morality, of tem- 
perance, honesty, industry, frugality, chastity ; and these are higher 
in the regards of some men than the interests of spiritual religion. — 
Transl. 

D2 



82 SIGNS OF A TRUE CALL. 

preacher to others when he finds but little hungerings and 
tfhirstings after grace in his own soul, it is then to be feared 
his zeal springs rather from a selfish principle than from the 
spirit of God." # 

We give a rule included in Newton's, when we propose to 
the candidate to inquire if the impulse which induces him to 
devote himself to the ministry is the same with the object 
of the ministry as made known to him by the Gospel. If 
his ruling motive can express itself in the terms which define 
the institution of the evangelical ministry, it is a good one. 

Can you, we would say to him, adopt, as expressing your 
self-consecration, these words of St. Paul : " And all things 
are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus 
Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation. 
To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to 
himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath 
committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then we 
are embassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you 
by us : we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to 
God."— 2 Cor., v, 18-20. 

Have you in your heart any measure of the feeling which 
St. Paul expresses when he says, " My little children, of whom 
I travail in birth till Christ be formed in you ?" — Gal., iv., 19. 

With your whole heart do you receive this precept of the 
apostle : " Let the same mind be in you which was also in 
Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, thought it not 
robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no repu- 
tation, and took upon him the form of a servant." — Phil., ii., 
5-7. 

Do you enter fully and freely into the thought, "I fill up 
that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ, in my flesh, 
for his Body's sake, which is the Church." 

In a word, a desire springing from love ; from ambition, 
but for God only — the desire of God's glory ; love for, or at 
* Newton : Cardiphoma, vol. ii., p. 45. 



SIGNS OF A TRUE CALL. 83 

least ready submission to, whatever in the ministry is labori- 
ous, painful, humiliating, diminutive ; do you recognize these 
traits in the inclination of your mind toward this excellent 
office, and do you esteem it excellent regarded in this point 
of view, and as involving such inconveniences ? If you do, 
you may rest assured that in this first respect, desire for the 
ministry, your call is genuine.^ 

This touchstone would be infallible, if any thing could be 
in our hands ; but we may easily be mistaken : Let us then 
enter further into this inquiry. 

In order to be fully assured that we have a true call, we 
must possess in some degree, or, at least, must desire, three 
excellent and inseparable qualities : the love of man, the 
love of God's glory, and the love of our own spiritual wel- 
fare. We shall begin with the glory of God, where ordina- 
rily we do not begin. The motive which inclines us to do 
good to our fellows is excellent and necessary, but is often 
rather a natural than a Christian sentiment. Common be- 
nevolence may be easily mistaken for charity, or the love of 
souls. A desire to do good to mankind may be regarded as 
a call to the ministry. We must have a more elevated spir- 
itual affection, of which we can only become conscious by 
perceiving in ourselves a love of the Divine glory. But one 
may have a sort of logical, reasonable affection for God, and 
say to himself, for example, God has done all things for us, 
we ought to do every thing for him. This is not true love, 
for love does not reason. Our love for God should be like 
the infant's love for his parent, a wife's for her husband. 
Nothing is more strange to the heart of man than this desire 
for the glory of God ; nothing marks more decisively our 
birth to a new life. When one perceives unfolding in him- 
self this strange desire, so chimerical to the natural man, 

* On the purity of motives, see Massit.lon, Discours sur la Vocation 
& Vetat Ecclesiastique, the paragraph beginning with these words : " Le 
dernier t^moignage que doit vous rendre votre conscience," &c. 



84 SIGNS OF A TRUE CALL. 

this necessity that God be honored, glorified in the world, 
then may he think himself called to the ministry ; and even 
when it may seem that souls may he saved otherwise than 
by his means, he must proceed. 

It is not necessary to insist on the love of men. The love 
of our own spiritual welfare is only a secondary consideration. 
We may seek, in the ministry, a spiritual asylum ; we may 
desire to put ourselves under the covert of the sanctuary ; but 
this should not be our determining motive. 

As to fear, desire does not exclude it ; these two feelings 
regulate one another, and constitute that "joy with trem- 
bling" of which the Psalmist speaks. The fear to which we 
refer results from a view of the greatness of God, and of our 
own weakness. The Christian who, before his conversion, had 
no fear of offending God, finds himself exercised with strange 
fears. The minister has yet more of feeling and of fear from 
his own unworthiness and weakness. Fear hence arising is 
not groundless or unnecessary ; and it may repel, at least for 
the moment, a candidate who has the deepest consciousness 
of being called. Not after a fall, but at the highest degree 
of Christian strength, may this momentary repulsion take 
place. At no time should this fear be wanting, though oth- 
er elements should counterbalance it ; and thus should it be 
with us, even to the end of the pastoral career. Indeed, 
since the more deeply we enter into the ministry the more 
awful it appears, this feeling should be constantly increas- 
ing. " Who is sufficient for these things ?" — 2 Cor., ii., 16. 

After this, it is almost needless to put conversion* in the 
number and at the head of the elements of vocation. Vari- 
ous meanings may be given to the word conversion, yet there 
can be no question as to the legitimacy of a call such as we 
have characterized. In our apprehension, conversion is in- 
cluded in desire such as we have defined. This desire is 

* "When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." — John, 
xxii., 32. 



SIGNS OF A TRUE CALL. 85 

conversion itself, and something more ; whence it was that, 
to avoid confusion and repetition, we did not speak of the 
conversion of the candidate before speaking of an inclination 
to the ministry. 

If, however, we take conversion as including love to Jesus 
Christ and his interest, it is unquestionably the first seal of 
vocation. Though we may love Christ without being called 
to the ministry, we can not be called to the ministry without 
loving Christ. When Christ demanded thrice of Saint Pe- 
ter, " Lovest thou me ?" and thrice said to him, on his an- 
swering in the affirmative, " Feed my sheep, feed my lambs," 
he did not mean to signify that whoever loved him ought to 
be employed in the evangelical ministry* (Saint Peter's call, 
in Christ's view, had a more particular ground) ; but he cer- 
tainly did mean to say that no one ought to be his minister 
who does not love him. " We ought," said a pastor cited by 
Burk, "to subject all aspirants to the ministry to the same 
test to which Saint Peter was subjected, and ask of each one 
of them, " Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou the Lord Jesus ?"f 
This appendix to a confession of faith would certainly not be 
superfluous. 

Love to Christ supposes many things. It supposes inter- 
course with Christ, an intimate relationship to him. He 
who has no personal reminiscences of Christ, who knows him 
only as the Savior of men, not as his own Savior ; as the 
teacher of men, not as his teacher, does not know enough 
of him, and should not begin his work until he is qualified 
for it. Faith, in order to become sight, must be exalted as 
to its degree ; and thus it must be elevated in a minister 
who can speak from experience. This personal knowledge 
is necessary as a qualification for the ministry, and as a means 
of fulfilling it in a useful manner. 

Reducing the idea of conversion to this simple and touch- 

* Sermon de Consecration. By M. le doyen Curtat. 
t Burk : Pastoraltheologie, tome i., p. 56. 



86 SIGNS OF A TRUE CALL. 

ing notion, love to Jesus Christ, we can fully subscribe to 
the maxim that, to preach the Gospel and exercise the min- 
istry we must be converted ; and we cordially unite with 
the writer in Herrnhutt's Practical Observations in the fol- 
lowing remarks : ■" Though the Gospel, apart from the in- 
struments by whom it is presented to men, is, to believers, 
the power of God unto salvation, and may be such, of course, 
by means of the writings and discourses of men who them- 
selves have never felt this power, it is still most certain that 
a forcible and lively exposition of the Gospel, and especially 
its application to the wants and the condition of individuals, 
which, properly speaking, is the care of the soul, is not to be 
expected with confidence, except from one who has felt and 
who continues to feel the power of the Gospel. This expe- 
rience, then, is essential, is indispensably requisite to a truly 
evangelical preacher. No one can well show to others the 
way of salvation until he can say with entire truth, " I be- 
lieved, therefore have I spoken." — Ps. cxvi., 10. 

Thus, then, conversion, or, if you please, love to Jesus Christ, 
is, as an element in vocation, on two accounts necessary ; 
first, as a seal, which legitimates the call ; next, as a means 
of carefully exercising the ministry, or a condition, without 
which it can not be so exercised. 

This desire, nevertheless, which, in its purity, we have 
made essential to a call, and which we have affirmed to be 
the first sign of a call, does not suffice without fitness ; and 
as there is a way, and a very serious one, of " stealing the 
words of God" (Jer., xxiii., 30), namely, by taking them into 
one's mouth without sincerity and without love, so may they, 
in our judgment, be stolen, by undertaking the ministry of 
the word without possessing, in some measure, certain apti- 
tudes for it. 

Some of these are physical, as the voice and the health. 
This latter may be delicate, and may give rise to questions 
which are to be resolved in casu rather than in specie. It 



PHYSICAL APTITUDES. 87 

is needless to inquire whether, with health too feeble to sus- 
tain the fatigues of the ministry, one may decline a weight 
which would crush him. This is so evident, that even if he 
exaggerated the weakness of his constitution, he should be 
permitted to withdraw ; for this exaggeration would indicate 
the absence of a desire to exercise the ministry, and where 
this desire is wanting there is no call. To disregard this in- 
dication or this objection would imply that all Christians are 
under obligation to enter into the ministry, and we should 
thus blot out even the institution of a special ministry. Rath- 
er should we question, if one manifestly in such a state of 
health should yield to desire, and undertake a ministry which 
in a short time would terminate his life. I would apply to 
a minister, as a general rule, the advice given to poets : 
" Sumite materiam vestris, qui pascitis, cequam viribus"* 
Be useful in a sphere somewhat different, and simply as 
Christians, as long and as much as you can, instead of ob- 
liging yourselves to pursue a course of labor in which you 
would be constantly impeded by bodily weakness. This rule, 
however, may, I admit, be modified by circumstances, which 
should be always well considered. There are times and places 
in which this sacrifice, which can never be commanded, may 
be approved and admired. Although I do not believe in 
works of supererogation, or think that we may do too much, 
and that God may be restricted in his requirements from us, 
yet I hold that there is not only a difference between unbe- 
lief and faith, but that there are degrees in faith, and that of 
two true Christians, one may have more or less zeal or love 
than the other. It may be well to be rash, and imprudence, 

* Horace says (Art of Poetry, v. 38), " Writers, choose a subject 
to which your strength is equal." 

Sumite materiam vestris, qui scribitis, aequam, viribus. 

By substituting the word pascitis for scribitis, M. Vinet makes this 
verse an advice to those who would feed souls, to inquire whether 
they are fitted for this work. — Ed. 



88 INTELLECTUAL APTITUDES. 

or what men call by that name, is very often true prudence. 
Circumstances, in short, may create duties, which in other 
circumstances would not have existed. 

As to intellectual aptitudes, they comprise talents and ac- 
quirements. What these should embrace, or how far they 
should extend, it would be improper here to define. Besides, 
there is more than one sort of ministry ; or, rather, the minis- 
try is not always exercised in the same circumstances. Al- 
though instruction and knowledge can never be superfluous, 
one may, in certain situations, exercise a very useful ministry 
without much knowledge. Still, certain measures of knowl- 
edge, certain talents, are always necessary, and perhaps in 
a higher degree, where science, in the strict sense, is wanting. 
Absolutely speaking, zeal without science (without any true 
mental discipline) creates only phantoms, and makes converts 
only to fanaticism. " Add to your faith knowledge" (2 Pet., 
i., 5) : Knowledge, and not talent only ; for talents without 
knowledge make us presumptuous and imprudent, and dis- 
cover to us obstacles only by bringing us into collision with 
them. The first good effect of knowledge is to teach us our 
ignorance, to make our darkness visible. In general, the 
ministry ought to have all the knowledge which may be nec- 
essary to defend religion against its adversaries ; to edify, to 
instruct, to render their teachings as useful as possible. It is 
always desirable that a minister should be a sound teacher, 
should be doctrinally acquainted with religion, should know 
the world, and especially should know human nature. The 
idea is a most unhappy one, that pastors have no need of 
much knowledge. They ought, as to acquirements, to be at 
least equal to any oppositions which they may have to en- 
counter. Still, we must avoid that frivolous knowledge which 
is pursued with a view to no end ulterior to itself. 

The power of acquiring knowledge depends on talents. 
These are necessaiy as a means both of acquiring knowledge 
and of power in the application of it, in the pulpit and the 



INTELLECTUAL APTITUDES. 89 

ministry. But the ministry does not require extraordinary 
talents ; piety, to a certain degree, takes the place of them. 
Piety is a great talent. Not more, perhaps less talent is 
necessary to be a good minister than to he a good judge, a 
good advocate, a good physician, &c. That which is neces- 
sary should not be rare. What all to some extent ought to be, 
many should be able to carry to some degree of perfection. 

As the ministry does not generally require very great tal- 
ents, neither does it require very special ones. One may be 
an excellent minister with talents which in every other pro- 
fession would succeed but passably. Fitness for the ministry 
is not a particular and exceptional fitness. In general, there 
are fewer than we think of those imperative calls of which 
we like so well to speak, and it is a kindness of Providence 
that there are so few. 

Finally, if piety may to a certain extent supply talent, 
talent can not supply piety, and the most special, talent (elo- 
quence, knowledge of the heart, ingenuity, government of 
minds) will not constitute a call. A man may be eminently 
suited to describe a minister without being called to be one. 
Neither can talent take the place of instruction. There is 
no hope more treacherous than that which a man has from 
the consciousness of talent. No one may fail sooner, if his 
talent do not rest upon a just foundation. Many distin- 
guished talents are lost, while moderate talents arrive, by 
labor, at results which appear reserved only for genius. Tal- 
ent, like labor, can only inspire a relative and subordinate 
confidence. Both, though necessary, do not in any way sup- 
ply the essential condition. They do not of themselves con- 
fer a mission. It is an armor which only injures us, if God 
himself have not put it on us. It is necessary that God 
should speak to our heart. " He alone," said J. Newton, 
" who created the world can make a minister of the Gospel." 
This is true, not only because he alone gives the talents and 
the acquisitions, but especially because there is something 



90 INTELLECTUAL APTITUDES. 

more profound, which he alone can give. It is the right 
neither of the greatest talent, nor the greatest labor, nor 
the most extended science, to "steal" this mission. There 
is more than one kind of simony. A man makes himself 
guilty of simony when he would buy the ministry as a venal 
thing, at the price of talent or of labor. This price pays 
very well for every other business ; it pays very badly, for it 
"steals," the ministry ;- and for one who has thus usurped it, 
the anathema of Peter is ready : " Thy talent perish with 
thee, because thou hast thought to purchase the gift of God 
with talent." — Acts, viii., 20. 

" The error of Simon Magus," says Bishop Saunderson,^ 
" was that he thought the gift of God might be obtained for 
the price of money. It is another error to think that it may 
be obtained by labor. In vain will you rise in the morning, 
go late to bed, study hard, read much, devour the marrow of 
the best authors ; if God do not add his blessing to your en- 
terprise, you will not be less lean and meagre in respect of 
knowledge, I mean true and useful knowledge, than the kine 
of Pharaoh were lean after having eaten the fat ones. It is 
God who gives the harvest to the sower, and it is God, also, 
who multiplies the harvest : the beginning and the increase 
come from him." 

All that we have now said is an admonition against as- 
suming talent as sufficient, but in no way does it tend to ex- 
clude it. There is, however, a certain measure and a cer- 
tain sort of talent, of w T hich the absence is almost incompat- 
ible with the exercise of the ministry, and to the feeble it 
may perhaps be the occasion of scandal. Not only are we 
excused from the ministry, we are not authorized to assume 
it when an absolute want of memory, or of facility in speak- 
ing, or of presence of mind, does not allow us to fulfill in a suit- 
able and edifying manner the ordinary duties of this office. 

Sometimes the measure or the kind of talents which a man 

* Cited by Bridges, The Christian Ministry, p. 39, 40, in a note. 



MORAL APTITUDES. 91 

has received from God may suffice for some other profession, 
in which he may zealously work to the glory of God. Why 
should one who has talents for government wish to be only 
a minister ? It is a sad error to think that one manner of 
serving God will please him more than another, when we 
are not fit for it ; and the idea of being attached more di- 
rectly, as it is said, to the propagation of his kingdom appears 
to me to have already done harm enough. Our views of the 
universal ministry, or of the call to all to perform, in their 
respective positions, the function of ministers, offer compensa- 
tion and comfort sufficient to those to whom the weakness of 
their talents denies the exercise of a special ministry. One 
class, especially, have cause to fear this illusion, and the more 
so in certain seasons. The class I refer to is that of men un- 
educated in youth, and the seasons I have in view are those 
of much religious interest. With these persons the care of 
souls is every thing ; with others nothing is thought of but 
preaching. The whole work is to be kept in view. 

Among the number of aptitudes, we may reckon the nat- 
ural character, which is not to be effaced by principles, nor 
even by a religious change, though, to a certain extent, af- 
fected by the influence of Christianity. It is in some points 
so closely connected with temperament, that it yields to prin- 
ciples and convictions scarcely more than temperament. Ti- 
midity, irresolution, fickleness, may abide in conversion, and 
remain to such a degree that the ministry may be obstructed 
by them, or may fail to secure that respect by which it ought 
to be attended. We should carefully consider this matter. 

It has been asked whether past sins may not annul a call, 
otherwise complete, and as well substantiated as possible. 
The question does not relate to every kind of sin ; it would 
imply, if it did, that none are worthy of the priesthood. It 
has respect to sins of a gross character, both as to nature and 
form ; aberrations of conduct — faults which, if known, would 
compromise our reputation in the eyes of the world ; not only 



92 DO PAST SINS 

sins, but serious faults, even in the view of natural men 
Have we, with or without the knowledge of the flock, com 
mitted such faults ; and may they destroy a call otherwise, 
well founded ? 

It is interesting to know the manner of thinking on this 
point among the Catholics. Catholicism, which petrifies 
truths by depriving them of their fluidity, secures them, in 
doing so, a durable existence. That petrifaction preserves for 
ages the form of the thing. It is a dearly-purchased benefit 
of Catholicism. A religion in which the external form is not 
so unchangeable has an advantage, but by the side of it there 
is a danger. It may have phases in which the change of 
form affects the foundation ; in which case the truth is lost. 
It is hence important to study Catholicism. 

By certain Catholic doctors, perhaps by Catholicism itself, 
the question has been resolved by an exaggeration. Massil- 
lon excludes from the ministry those who have been given 
up to sins which have acquired over them the power of hab- 
it. " Mourn," he says, " for your crimes in the position of a 
common believer — that is your place ; but do not, by receiv- 
ing a sacred character, put a seal upon all your iniquities : 
do not defile the sanctuary, and add not the profanation of a 
holy place to that of your soul. You may repent, return to 
God, move his mercy, and save yourselves among penitent 
believers ; you would die hardened and impenitent should 
you become priests. It may be that this rule has had some 
exceptions — that a great sinner, after being purified by a long 
life of mortification, may become a holy priest ; but when an 
exception to a rule is concerned, the utility of the infraction 
must compensate for the inconveniences. Now it is yours to 
say what great advantages the Church may promise itself 
from your promotion to the priesthood. For my part, all that 
I can say to you is this, if faith still remains to you, it can 
not but seem terrible to you to enter into a state of which the 
general rule declares you unworthy, and in which we must 



ANNUL VOCATION ? 93 

have recourse to a solitary exception, to a rare, singular case, 
to one of those prodigies of which a century scarcely furnishes 
an example, if you are not to be a profaner and an intruder."^ 

This rigor may seem inconsistent with other Catholic 
views, which tend to make the personality of the pastor too 
insignificant an element. But there is no contradiction — 
there is agreement. The priest, a neuter substance, from 
whom the Spirit has retired, ought, at least as a victim led 
to the altar, to present no spot externally ; and it is of these 
external defilements that there is a question in the passage 
from Massillon. Besides, in the case he supposes, when the 
obstinacy of the disorder has effaced from the soul all feel- 
ings of modesty and virtue — when the habitude of crime has 
put into it a disgust for heavenly things, it is very evident that 
one should be excluded from the ministry ; for he can not 
have a call to it. But this is not the question. It relates to 
our knowing whether, in respect to a true call, the memory 
of grave faults should exclude us from the ministry. Besides, 
it is not here a question of general, universal sin, but of great 
and deep iniquities — of faults against honor and morals. 

I respect conscience, and in certain cases I may approve 
the motives of him whom the memory of old sins restrains 
from the ministry, whether the public partakes with him in 
these painful remembrances, or whether he has confided them 
to no one. 

In the first case, there is a fear on the one side that the 
public — I mean the mass of the flock — will oppose to the 
exhortations of the pastor, and to his reprimands, the image, 
always vivid, always ready to revive, of his ancient disorders, 
even when excess of virtue and devotedness have disallow- 
ed and effaced them.f And on the other side, the thought 
that the public knows them may intimidate the preacher, 

* Massillon: Discours sur la Vocation a Vetat Ecclesiastique. 
t According to the rule of the Church, public penitence is incom- 
patible with the priesthood.— (St. Cyran, Pensees sur le Sacerdoce. 



94 DO PAST SINS 

and entirely take away from him that holy boldness, without 
which he can not usefully exercise the ministry. Massillon 
lays down a principle, that we must not impose ourselves on 
a people who will not accept us. # This is true ; and if it be 
true that, although ecclesiastical authority, which, however, 
is supposed to be delegated by the people, will admit us, the 
people or the public, on account of our known faults, will not 
admit us, if we have the feeling that they do not admit us 
with good- will, we must wait to be reinstated among them, 
or seek a ministry far from places where the remembrance 
of our faults will envelop and smother us. It is easy here to 
draw a conclusion as to the young Levite who is exposed by 
his very youth, that his youth will not be sufficiently respect- 
ed. — 1 Tim., iv., 12. If his youth has been not at all scan- 
dalous, but too noisy, too little serious, even that is an evil. 
It is necessary not only that the candidate should be exempt 
from those faults which society will not pardon, but more, 
that from the moment in which his life belongs to the public, 
he should be surrounded with an atmosphere of sanctity, of 
seriousness, of innocence in morals and manners. 

In the second case, the memory of his sins pursuing the 
minister even into the pulpit, and overwhelming him, per- 
haps the more that he has not made reparation for them by 
means of a public avowal, may cause him extreme difficulty 
and trouble. It is not certain that God intends in all cases, 
in taking away the guilt of sin, to take away also the weight of 
its remembrance. Perhaps this hard discipline he imposes on 
certain persons who have need to be held, even to the end, in 
humiliation and in terror. Perhaps such a man will feel that 
it is not for him, polluted as he is, to exercise a ministry of 
which even angels are not worthy ; perhaps his respect for 
the ministry will hold him aloof from the ministry ; and if it 
should be so with him, I should not dare to oppose these scru- 

* Massillon : Discours sur la Vocation a Vetat Ecclesiastique. " The 
suffrage of the people is the second mark of a canonical vocation," &c. 



ANNUL VOCATION ? 95 

pies ■ I should not dare to advise their suppression, unless I 
should see a germ of self-righteousness, and discover in the 
individual's sense of unworthiness the idea of man's worthiness 
in general. 

This painful sacrifice might be blessed, and if I saw that it 
was made from the proper principle, I should hope that this 
man has renounced the ministry only to exercise it under an- 
other more humble, more simple form ; that he will preach 
the Gospel at the foot of the pulpit as he would have done 
higher up ; that he has denied himself the official priesthood 
to exercise another, and that he will do by a good example 
(which he is the more required to give, because he has given 
a bad one) what he would not venture to do by his words. 

It is difficult, in cases like these, to interpose between a 
man and his conscience. The question must be settled be- 
tween them : At least we must enter only as we are invited ; 
we must use precaution, and not force any thing. But while 
it is difficult to solve particular cases of this kind, it is less 
so to lay down a general principle according to which they 
should be solved, and which each one may apply to himself 
as it may suit him. The principle is this : It is not, we 
would say in each case, it is not what you have been, but 
what you are, that is to be considered. If it were absolute- 
ly unlawful for you to enter into the ministry on account of 
the sins of your youth, no one could exercise it ; for all have 
sinned, all have been dead (Eph., xi., 1), and in death there 
are no degrees. If these sins, after you have abjured and 
utterly renounced them, render you unfit for the ministry, 
they also render you unfit for heaven. To preach the Di- 
vine forgiveness, you must have believed in it, you must have 
received and accepted it ; and if you have accepted it, you 
are, according to the terms of the Gospel, as if you had never 
sinned. Between you and others there is no difference ; since 
"all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."— 
Rom., iii., 23. As you believe, then, in the Divine forgive- 



96 DO PAST SINS 

ness, you have, neither more nor less than any other man, a 
right to preach the Gospel. Has not that grace which has 
cleansed you as a man cleansed you also as a minister ? 
We can not disown these truths without disowning with them 
the elements of the Gospel, which make no difference be- 
tween the laborer of the first and the laborer of the eleventh 
hour, the publican and the strict pharisee, the prodigal son 
and his elder brother, who by supposition remained always 
with his father. In the work of grace, which is a new cre- 
ation, the things which are past are no more remembered. — 
Is., lxv., 17. The new man's relations toward God date 
from his renovation ; what he now is effaces what he has 
been, though what he now does can not efface what he has 
done. "What greater change can a man experience," says 
St. Cyran, "than from a child of Adam to become a child of 
God ? We may say it is a less change to pass from nothing 
to a mortal man, than from being a mortal man to become a 
child of God."* 1 

This is the truth, in its abstract and absolute form. It is 
not affirming that, because God's mercy takes no account of 
our former conduct, we ourselves should take no account of 
it ; nor that those should not who may have to decide con- 
cerning our call to the functions of the ministry. It is not 
enough that repentance separates our past conduct from our 
new life ; it is necessary that there should be a test of suffi- 
cient devotion to assure others and ourselves that the pois- 
onous germ is dead, and the man is no longer the same one 
that sinned and gave cause for scandal. Thus past sins will 
present no obstacle to our entering into the holy tribe ; it 
may even be that those sins which we deplore, and because 
we deplore them, may impart to us a prudence, a seriousness, 
a force, and a compassion, which do not always belong tc 
those whose lives have been passed in comparative inno- 
cence. 

* Saint Cyran : Pensees sur le Sacerdoce. 



ANNUL VOCATION ? 97 

On this subject, the Abbe de St. Cyran has a thought which 
deserves attention : " I do not fear to introduce into the priest- 
hood, on urgent occasions, a man who has repented of his 
public or known sins, though they may have been gross and 
against the Decalogue, provided I find two qualities in him. 
One of them is firmness of mind (something beyond mere 
good sense), which, with the aid of Divine grace, may be of 
much avail to him in resisting his other sins, and also the 
temptations arising from the exercise of the priesthood. The 
other is an entire freedom from cupidity, whether as to wealth 
or as to honor and praise. For, not unfrequently, a man loses 
his innocence by only one kind of mortal sin, springing from 
strong inclination and favored by the ardor of age ; and a 
passing occasion may prevail against a nature good in every 
other respect, and endowed in body and mind with many ac- 
quired and gracious qualities. This sometimes is enough to 
displace every fear of making a man a priest, supposing him 
to be truly penitent, and that he has passed some years with- 
out falling again, and in striving perpetually to cure his sin- 
ful habits. We may have more assurance in this case, if, 
while living in a city, he foregoes intercourse with persons 
not easy to be avoided, such as relations, friends, and others 
whom it is difficult to keep at a distance from us in cities. 
Of those who have fallen from innocence, some have more 
strength and resolution than others who have never fallen."* 

May doubts annul a call ? 

We reply, 1st. That there would be few ligitimate calls 
if doubt might annul them. 

2d. That there would be few Christians even on this sup- 

* Saint Cyran : Lettre a M. Guillebert sur le Sacerdoce, chap, xviii. 
" God himself has chosen as ministers men who had grievously sin- 
ned ; and many holy bishops and pastors of whom ecclesiastical his- 
tory speaks, had been exceedingly dissipated men." — August in. 
Ranee. 

E 



98 DOUBTS AND INCLINATIONS 

position ; for, though it is possible to be in a state where all 
is light, they who never doubt are graceless beings. 

3d. That the study, the life, the exercise of the ministry, 
will raise new doubts. 

The question to be settled is, Do we believe ? Is Christian- 
ity a reality with us ? Are we able to give a reason for our 
faith to ourselves and others ? Have we that experience of 
the truth, that inward certitude which, without resolving 
doubts, sweeps them away ? 

But it is objected — can a man who is sent to remove the 
doubts of others doubt himself? Not absolutely. But we 
are not now speaking of skeptical or unbelieving ministers, 
but of a man who is not clear on all points, and who some- 
times must know it. 

May certain inclinations annul a call 1 

The inclinations which we have in view are like the doubts 
of the soul, and the difficulty is resolved on the same princi- 
ples. 

We do not speak of tastes, innocent in themselves, but which 
a pastor can not indulge. These do annul the call, if the call 
do not annul or overcome them. 

We refer to evil inclinations — inclinations which are as in- 
compatible with the Christian profession as they are with the 
ministry. As a minister, in yielding to them, is more culpa- 
ble, and will do greater harm than a simple Christian, the 
question presents itself, Should he not begin to conquer them 
as a man 1 If he say that he can do so better as a minister, 
this would be playing high game, doubling the difficulty in 
order to surmount it. If the Church is an hospital, ministers 
are not the sick, but the overseers of them. They ought to 
enter it in a good state of health. They may doubtless do 
themselves good here, but there is something repulsive in this 
calculation. There is danger, however, that, instead of be- 
ing purified by the ministry, a stain will be brought upon it. 



IN CONNECTION WITH VOCATION. 99 

I regard ascese* or spiritual exercise, as an important 
preparation for the ministry. I mean by this not the arbi- 
trary exercises of certain Christians and certain sectaries, but 
a system of moral life, resting on Christian principle, but acted 
on in anticipation of the ministry afterward to be exercised. 
We may suppose ourselves in the most difficult position, and 
live as if we were there. Doubtless there will be many dif- 
ferences. What is a privation to one is not to another ; so 
that we can not enter into details. Our concern is, by the 
aid of Divine grace, to become masters of ourselves. This is 
the essential point. 

Most manifestly are these questions referred, for decision, 
directly and definitively to ourselves. And on the whole, no 
man, nor body of men, can know with entire certainty that 
we are called ; as, on the other hand, they can not in every 
case declare with certainty that we are not called. In short, 
there are times and places in which a man can not be sent, 
except by himself, and in which he who ought to be called 
is the last that would be called. A case of this kind is that 
in which one sets himself in opposition to a general error. 
Pastoral order should always be maintained; but the Church, 
in certain times, is the offspring of the pastor, as in ordinary 
times the pastor proceeds from the Church. In general, how- 
ever, an external call, which is not necessary in right, or, in 
an absolute sense, is necessary in fact : It is so, 

1. To the minister himself, who, though the sole judge of 
his own intentions, is judge of nothing more ; and on his own 
account needs a testimonial from others as to his tact, talent, 

* KffKT\<ris. — M. Vinet has adopted this word, which the Germans 
before him (christliche Ascese) had introduced into theological lan- 
guage. It is borrowed from the Greek, as formerly were borrowed 
ascete, asceticisme, and aseetique. — Edit. The French word has 
been retained, as there is no English word corresponding to it— 

Tran si. 



100 IMPORTANCE OF EXTERNAL VOCATION. 

and knowledge. It is very true that, even when we are 
called by a Church, we may think we are not called ; but if a 
Church does not call us when we think we have been called, 
there is then room for doubt as to our call. It is the duty 
of every man, even though drawn to the ministry by very 
lively convictions, to doubt his call when he sees that he is 
unacceptable. There should, at least, be delay before we re- 
fuse to submit to the scientific and ecclesiastical authority 
which resists us. Neither can we understand well the un- 
dertaking beforehand ; and, in respect to its nature, its extent, 
its difficulties, its true character, we should rest upon testi- 
monials which may well, in this case, be called authority. 
They who are acquainted with the work have a means of 
knowing, which we have not, whether we are qualified for it. 

2. To the flock. Unless, from particular circumstances, 
the flock are able, and in a condition to judge of the capacity 
and worthiness of the minister who presents himself, they will 
always ask : " "Whence do you come ? Are you he that should 
come ?" Wherever there is a Church, it will provide an es- 
tablished rule, according to which those are to be judged who 
pretend to pastoral functions, and an institution which forms 
and selects them. This is but a moral security, but it is the 
only one which is possible. And in the Romish Church, 
though they have greater pretensions, have they essentially 
any thing more ? 

As regards the minister's personal satisfaction as to his 
call, the external call is equivalent to a consultation. But 
this consultation, it should be said, is very imperfect, and will 
always be so, compared with that which we may hold, no 
longer with a collective body of men, but at our own request, 
with tried friends and our brethren in the faith. A collect- 
ive authority can not judge of inward sentiments, of the real- 
ity of faith, of the degree to which imagination may have 
place. A friend can do this much better. Let him be con- 
sulted, then, but with entire sincerity, without any mental re- 



MEANS OF ASSURANCE. 101 

serve. We oii;en think we have said every thing, when the 
important word remains unuttered. 

I should also have indicated exercise* as a means of assur- 
ance, if it were generally possible for a man to exercise him- 
self sufficiently before consecration ; that is to say, in a man- 
ner which shows well the nature of the work to which, as a 
minister, he is to be devoted. Without attaching too much 
importance to this means, I think it would be welL, within 
the limit* of prudence and modesty, and under a wise direc- 
tion, to make trial of some of the labors of the ministry. It 
would tend to give seriousness to the life of a student, pro- 
vided these exercises be in their own nature serious ; and 
would throw in advance the light of practice on theory. Thus 
young physicians not only read and attend lectures, but visit 
the sick. Let young ministers do likewise. There is a clinique 
also of the ministiy. The departments of theology and of the 
ministry present but too many theorists who have not been 
instructed by practice, and but too many practitioners who 
care nothing for theory. Bengel advises young theologians 
who have finished their studies to go into the country for a 
year, and there exercise the ministry, and then to pass some 
time at a new university. Without making this a rule, it is 
an excellent precept. 

In general, a serious and well-directed young man would 
do well, at the outset of his theological studies, to take his 
resolution intelligently, and at the end of a year's study he 
may find his call confirmed or annulled. At the end of this 
period let him put the question to himself again, or let it be 
put to him. If he has no call, he may then know it. He 
can not beforehand so well assure himself that he truly has 
a call ; but his impressions may determine him to begin his 
studies. Let him have the courage, if he find that he has 
obeyed an imaginary call, to retrace his steps, however late 
it may be. 

* Preliminary practice. — Transl. 



102 DANGER OF ILLUSIONS, 

A young man should have regard to the wishes of parents, 
who may prefer this office, and often see in it the door of 
safety for their child ; but let his parents and himself well 
understand that it is not absolutely the place of safety, that 
the ministry in itself alone does not secure ministers, and that 
to enter into this profession with a call to a very different 
one may one day result in seeing nature grown the strongest, 
and inclining us to pursuits, subjecting us to habits, which, 
out of the ministry, may appertain to a Christian, but which, 
in the ministry, are as so many instances of disloyalty and 
scandal.^ 

* What follows is extracted from the note-books of M. Vinet's au- 
ditors, and is only ^another form of the thought of which the original 
expression is reproduced in the text. We think the reader may be 
interested to see both versions. 

" This question concerning vocation is a great question. But it 
does not always arise out of itself. In order to resolve it, it must be 
well considered, and considered before entering into the ministry. 
Often, nay always, should the candidate be questioning himself; but 
especially at two periods ; one at the beginning, and the other at the 
end of his special studies. That he should examine himself on this 
point at the beginning of these studies is natural, but is that the prop- 
er time for deciding it 1 Some may be under a powerful impression, 
but this is not the case with the greater part. And even with the 
smaller number such an impression is not a sure sign of a call. Age 
may have great influence ; but the common case is rather one of in- 
decision, a conflict between tastes and tendencies. Should we ex- 
clude from the novitiate those who do not find themselves under a 
lively impression 1 By no means ; we should try them ; they may 
perhaps prove themselves sincere, faithful — may appreciate the beau- 
ty of the ministry, may not be urged by merely external influences. 
It is true that there is great danger in a candidate's entering on his 
studies in such a state of mind. Afterward, when he is more un- 
impressed, when the course of his life may take a different direction, 
he may rather persevere in than renounce his present dispositions. 
This is a danger, but no one should be excluded on account of it. At 
the end of his studies he should interrogate himself in a more deci- 
sive manner. He will then be no longer doubtful as to the general 
agreement between his profession and his heart. He should exam- 



NECESSITY OF PRAYER. 103 

But he who shall have made use of all these means will 
not feel less, but more than any other, that they are insuffi- 
cient in themselves ; for they profit only the upright and 
sincere soul — the soul which is free from all foreign preoc- 
cupation. And how can one assure himself on this point, 
how secure himself against every illusion, if he do not first 
obtain that single eye, that pure eye, without which the light 
itself is but as darkness ? How can he perceive in himself 
a spirit in which objects appear as they are, in which nothing 
irrelevant mingles itself, in which we know and judge our- 
selves with all possible certainty, and in which, to say all, no 
serious and irreparable error can have place ? This isola- 
tion, this chosen and pure medium, is prayer. Truth has 
its dwelling with prayer. 

No object was ever more worthy of it. We are " to be- 
seech men in the name of God, and as though God besought 
them by us" (2 Cor., v., 20) ; and how can we venture to 
do this without his leave ? and how can we be sure of hav- 
ing his leave, when we may directly ask him, and fail to do 
it ? I do not attribute to prayer any supernatural or magical 
effect ; God does not mean to exempt or deprive us of the 
use of our faculties by inviting us to prayer ; he does not prom- 
ise to say " Go" directly, without the use of means, to the 
question which we address to him, " Shall I go, Lord ?" But 
besides this intrinsic virtue attached to prayer, it is in the 
power of God, the Lord of our spirits and of circumstances, 
to combine every thing in such a manner that we shall see 
what we ought to see, and not think we see that which is 
not. His Providence does not exercise itself at the expense 
of our liberty, which always remains perfect. 

We shall never call upon God, if we do it not in this time 

ine himself thoroughly : if he find that he has no call, let him have 
the courage to retrace his steps. Finally, a minister who, after some 
period of practice, learns that he has not been called, has indeed made 
the discovery very late, but not too late to abandon the ministry." 



104 THE .MINISTRY WITHOUT VOCATION. 

of the greatest danger. For thus truly we must name the 
chance of entering into the ministry without a call to it. No 
reading, example, or company ; no influence of education 
and authority ; no temptation from without or within, nei- 
ther excessive riches nor excessive poverty ; nothing can cor- 
rupt us so profoundly or so irrevocably as a ministry exer- 
cised without a call ; that is to say, without the convictions 
and sentiments which are its only legitimate ground ; and 
the Abbe de Saint Cyran has reason to say, "that no men are 
more irreclaimable than those who, not having been called to 
the priesthood by the vocation of God, do nothing which ap- 
pears worthy of a priest all their life."* Thought terrible, 
but true ! For, on the one hand, it is certain that the one, 
without a call, will do himself exactly as much evil as the 
other will do himself good by a legitimate ministry ; that 
whatever moves and edifies a true pastor hardens him in the 
same proportion ; that each word of truth which he pro- 
nounces shuts his heart somewhat more to the sentiment of 
truth ; and that he perishes by that by which others live : 
And on the other hand, it is easy to understand that the 
crime of usurpation, and consequently of hypocrisy, is such 
that the scandal of morals adds sensibly nothing to it, and 
that flagrant scandals, reproachful as they are to the minis- 
try, less compromise the ministry. These scandals are, in 
our view, the mark of a slave who struggles in his chains ; 
they are as an abdication of the ministry ; the minister who 
gives them is a robber, but not an impostor ; and he corrupts 
himself less, perhaps, by these excesses than by hypocrisy. 
The other does much more evil ; he undertakes the function 
of a minister of the Gospel only to weaken the Gospel, to re- 
tain under empty and dead forms the souls that are commit- 
ted to him, to make them sleep a sleep still more profound. 
Strange, but true ; scandals which he might cause by irregu- 
lar conduct would be comparative benefits. They admit of 
* Saint Cyran : Pensces sur le Sacerdoce. 



THE MINISTRY WITHOUT VOCATION. 105 

no illusion ; they give notice that truth is elsewhere, or, at 
least, that it is not there ; but decency of manners, regularity 
in purely external duties, all without conviction, are the most 
admirable means of keeping souls far from the living waters, 
and near the stagnant and putrid pools of legalism, of form- 
alism, or of indifference. I do not inquire whether he be 
more or less culpable than a scandalous minister, but I doubt 
not that he does more evil. 

In presence of a danger so terrible, what is the stupidity 
that would not tremble, that would defy appearances, that 
would not suspect the wishes, the invitations, and the coun- 
sels of those by whom we feel ourselves most and best loved ; 
who, in a word, would not resist all combinations of impulse, 
and who would not seek to raise himself by prayer so high 
above the illusions of imagination and all human influences, 
that he would find nothing between himself and the truth ? 
What he desires is a call which comes from God himself. 
He will not be satisfied with less ; he will not rest until he 
has drawn from God the solemn word, Go ! or, Go not ! 
This word God without doubt will not articulate, but God 
will make all the objects, the consideration of which ought 
to determine him, to reflect themselves purely in the mirror 
of his conscience, and he will have, if we may so speak, the 
conscience that it is conscience which has spoken — the new 
man, and not the natural man. 



DUTIES OF THE PASTOR. 



The plan which I have adopted is not, perhaps, the 
best ; but we may tolerate any classification of things 
which excludes nothing essential and embraces noth- 
ing false. 

I trace many concentric circles around the soul of 
the pastor, which is my centre and my point of depart- 
ure. I first give rules relating to the purely individual 
and interior life of the pastor ; a life particular and 
distinct, by which all the other spheres of his existence 
are determined. 

I pass afterward to his social life, and, first, his do- 
mestic life (always considering him as a pastor). 

Finally, I come to his pastoral life properly speak- 
ing, in which I distinguish the pastor, the conductor 
of worship, and the preacher. 



PART FIRST, 

INDIVIDUAL AND INTERNAL LIFE. 



I assume a holy vocation and a regular entrance, a pastor- 
al and even a zealous spirit. 

The pastor, even as the Christian, must fortify, must con- 
firm his vocation ((3e6aiav TroLeloOai, 2 Pet., i., 10). In this 
there is a mystery, the profound, invisible concurrence of the 
human will which is excited with the Divine will which ex- 
cites it. It is with vocation as with conversion. In one sense, 
we are called but once, as we are converted but once ; in 
another sense, we are called and converted every day. Anal- 
ogy here should suffice, and even be an a fortiori argument ; 
but the Gospel is explicit : St. Paul says to Timothy, " I put 
thee in remembrance, that thou stir up the gift of God which 
is in thee." — 2 Tim., i., 6. 

I dismiss the question whether there are not many whom 
it concerns to make to themselves a call, while they are al- 
ready engaged in the work. 

The exercise of the ministry, will not this of itself suffice 
for the confirmation of the call ? — It should contribute to it, 
but it may also have the opposite effect. The exercise of 
the ministry endangers the spirit of the ministry, if it be not 
sustained from within. If there be not this balance, if the 
internal does not exert itself sufficiently on the external, the 
external injures the internal, as the internal no doubt would 
fail without external action. There is danger that function 



110 RENEWAL OF VOCATION. 

may become a substitute for feeling.* Our first impressions 
have in them much of imagination ; when this is once ex- 
hausted, and without further aid from it we are made de- 
pendent for feeling on the heart and the conscience, it is 
much to be feared that we shall have too little feeling. f 

We must not depend on the vivacity of our first impres- 
sions ; that which affects us most to-day will leave us cold 
soon : For the influence of things on our sensibility we shall 
have to rely on their direct relation to our heart and con- 

* " The first time the priests and Levites saw in the desert the holy 
tabernacle which Moses was directed to construct, the miraculous 
cloud which went before it, the glory of God which covered this holy 
place, the oracles which proceeded from the inner sanctuary, the mag- 
nificence and the august solemnity of the sacrifices and ceremonies, 
they could not but approach them with a holy dread. Of the purifi- 
cations, and all the other preparations which were prescribed to min- 
isters by the law, they omitted nothing. But gradually the daily sight 
of the tabernacle made them familiar with this holy place ; the pre- 
cautions ceased with their awe ; the prodigy of the pillar of fire, which 
God continued there every day, became contemptible by long custom ; 
profanations soon followed ; rash ministers ventured to offer strange 
fire ; others usurped the functions which belonged exclusively to the 
high-priest ; at last the daughters of Midian soon became to them a 
stumbling-block and a scandal, and hardly in the entire tribe of Levi 
could a Phinehas, a holy and zealous priest, be found, who dared to 
avenge the honor of the priesthood and the sanctity of the law, which 
had been shamefully dishonored before an unfaithful people." — Mas- 
sillon, Discours sur la Necessite oil sont les Ministres de se renouveller 
dans VEsprit de leur Vocation. 

t In the first fervor of the Christian and of the minister, imagination 
easily, and even necessarily, intermingles. In all life imagination has 
its part. It is a kind of vehicle without which many ideas could not 
reach us. And how far does its power extend ! even to making us 
conscious that we have a life within us to which we are entire stran- 
gers. It enters into all our moral acts, and in some in a very high de- 
gree. When it leaves us, every thing it has created disappears with 
it as a phantom, leaving within us the net product of the work it has 
wrought in us. This often is little. The lees only remain at the 
bottom of the cup — the cordial of imagination has been drunk. 



RENEWAL OF VOCATION. Ill 

science, and, from being apparently full of zeal, we may be° 
come mere men of office. There must, then, be a renewal 
of our call, and in proportion as the charm of novelty is ef- 
faced, the moral element must be strengthened. 

Now the first means of renewing our vocation as pastors 
is to renew our vocation as Christians. The Christian is not 
to be forgotten in order to dream only of the pastor ; the one 
can not of itself, and all alone, do the work of the other. Even 
as pastors, it is important to remind ourselves that, of the 
souls which have been confided to our care, our own are the 
first ; that toward these first our ministry should be exercised ; 
and that, first of all, we should be pastors to ourselves. 

Whether it be that, to advance the salvation of others, we 
must not neglect our own, or that justice requires each one's 
charity to begin with himself, St. Paul, in addressing himself 
to ministers in the person of Timothy, speaks to them first 
concerning themselves : " Take heed to thyself and to thy 
doctrine, for in so doing (in doing these two things, and not 
the last only) thou shalt save thyself and those who hear 
thee." — 1 Tim., iv., 16. " Take heed to yourselves, and to all 
the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you over- 
seers."* — Acts, xx., 28. 

Nevertheless, we are also required to renew directly our 

* " To observe the order of St. Paul (Acts, xx., 28 ; 1 Tim., iv., 16), 
a minister must begin with himself, fulfill his own duties, and care for 
his own salvation before all things. Before going abroad from love to 
his neighbor, let him withdraw into the secret place of the divine ho- 
liness. Before compassionating the misery of others, let him be sens- 
ible of his own ills and of his own weaknesses. And, before urging 
others to obey the law of God, let him first obey it himself. The first 
duty of a bishop is to be holy." — Duguet, Traite des Devoirs d'un 
iveque, art. ii., § 1. Gregory of Nazianzen expresses himself thus 
on the subject : " We must first be pure, and then purify others ; be 
taught, and then teach others ; become light, and then enlighten oth- 
ers ; draw near to God ourselves, and then induce others to approach 
him ; sanctify ourselves, and then make others holy." 



112 SOLITUDE. 

vocation as pastors, which means that we must be always 
renewing in ourselves the disposition which was decisive in 
respect to our vocation. 

If, therefore, the exercise of the ministry do not of itself 
suffice for this constant renovation, we must seek the means 
of it externally, apart from the ministry. 

The first of these, which is rather the condition of all, is 
solitude* Let us not exaggerate ; let us not attempt to rec- 
ommend solitude to the exclusion or detriment of social life. 
For the advantage of this, and as a means of better preparing 
himself to improve it, must the pastor sometimes withdraw 
himself from society. In a solitude too profound, too protract- 
ed, there are peculiar dangers, and greater ones, perhaps, than 
those of the world. "When habitual, solitude is contrary to the 
will of the Creator, who said it was not good for man to be 
alone ; and against the mind of Jesus Christ, who prayed to 
his Father not to take us out of the world, but to keep us from 
the evil. As an exception, then, and not as a rule, is solitude 
to be recommended. But so regarded — regarded as an ex- 
ception or as a remedy (we do not nourish ourselves with rem- 
edies), it is of great value. 

"We do not mean to say that solitude is good in itself : It 
is not, except with certain qualifications. It has often been 
spoken of with the unqualified enthusiasm which we have 
for what has once charmed us. Poets,f moralists, philoso- 
phers, have vaunted it ; and this concert of praise, surely, is 
not without some foundation. But we must not be indis- 
criminate. What we have intended to recommend is, intern- 
al solitude, or the spirit of solitude. "We must discipline our- 
selves to being alone in the midst of the world, to tranquillity 

* See, on this subject, a discourse of M. Vinet, entitled La Solitude 
recommandee au Pasteur. — Edit. 

t See, among others, La Fontaine, dans Le Songe d'un Habitant du 
Mogol, le Juge arbitre, VHospitalier et la Solitaire. 



SOLITUDE. 118 

in the midst of tumult, to stillness in the midst of excitement. 
Having made ourselves capable of this kind of solitude, we 
may hold ourselves quit of the other. When external soli- 
tude is denied to us, we think that the other, carefully cul- 
tivated, may be relied upon as sufficient. 

External solitude is evil if it be not good. If we have the 
world in the heart, we shall take it with us into the closet. 
To an unsocial, envious, irritable man, who feeds upon his 
resentments or his hatreds, solitude of this kind is very injuri- 
ous. And to men agitated by passion, we can, in many cases, 
recommend nothing better than intercourse with others who 
are pursuing some useful occupation. Solitude is good or evil 
according to the use we make of it. 

But solitude can not fail to be useful to him who seeks 
good from it, precisely because he seeks it ; and even, previ- 
ous to experience of it in ourselves, we can easily understand 
that what makes outward things vanish, and silences the 
noises of the world, favors the interviews which we wish to 
have with ourselves ; that, except in these circumstances, we 
can but partially hold these interviews ; and, in particular, 
that the truths which concern the conscience here detach 
themselves better from all those foreign accessories with 
which they are overloaded and darkened in the discussions 
which are carried on respecting them.^ 

Life, in our day, is made up of so many elements, is cut 
into so many surfaces, that it produces a kind of bewilder- 

* Saint Gregory calls the occupations of the ministry a tempest of 
the spirit. Saint Bernard wrote to Pope Eugene thus : " Since all pos- 
sess you, be one of those by whom you are possessed. Why should 
you alone be deprived of the gift which you make of yourself] How 
long will you not receive yourself, in your turn, among others 1 You 
know that you are debtor to the wise and the unwise, and do you 
refuse yourself only to yourself? All partake of you, all quench their 
thirst at your breast as at a public fountain, and do you hold yourself 
at a distance athirst!" — Saint Bernard, Traite de la Considiration, 
liv. i., ch. v. 



114 SOLITUDE. 

merit, and the eye needs to repose itself in the quiet and sweet 
light of solitude.* 

We must not, then, despise external means : Jesus Christ 
did not despise them. How often is he represented in the 
Gospel as withdrawing himself, and passing long hours away 
from men and noise ! Would a means which was necessary 
to Jesus Christ be useless to us ? "I learn from Saint Au- 
gustine," says Bossuet, " that the attentive soul makes a sol- 
itude for itself: Gignit enim sibi ipsa mentis intentio soli- 
tudinem. But let us not natter ourselves ; if we would keep 
ourselves vigorous in the inward man, we must know how to 
avail ourselves of seasons of an effective solitude. f 

Moreover, it is only as giving opportunity for action that 
solitude is desirable. The peace, the repose which it offers, 
are but a frame- work which we have to fill up. Vagrancy 
of thought is always hurtful. Christianity makes us think, 
not dream. 

Solitude, on account of its general influence as now set 
forth, is most valuable to a minister who can employ it in 
these three ways. 

1. It enables him to take an estimate of his modes of life, 
external and internal. This self-examination should be often 
made, for the progress of evil is no less rapid than insensible. 
We are worse to-day than we were yesterday, if we are not 
better. As diligent stewards, let us settle our account every 
evening, for the thief may come during the night. A too 
minute manner of examining ourselves may, however, open 
a door to selfishness : Let us then, even here, be on our guard, 

* See, on the Catholic Institution of Retreats, Massillon, third Syn- 
odal discourse, De la Necessite des Retraites pour se renouveller dans It 
Grace du Sacerdoce; and Bourdaloue, V Avertissement de la Retraite 
Spirituelle. 

t Bossuet : Oraison Funebre de Marie Therese d'Autriche. For the 
quotation from St. Augustine, see De divers. Quaest. ad Simplic, lib. 
ii., Quaest. iv., t. vi., col. 118. 



PRAYER, 115 

for the enemy glides in through every inlet. Some, with too 
little caution, have advised us to keep a minute and daily 
journal ; we must not record too much about ourselves, even 
though we record evil. We shall find it useful, however, to 
take note of the most important occurrences of our life. 

2. It assists him in gathering up the results of his expe- 
rience. Experience is properly a reaction upon things which 
have been done ; it does not suffice to have seen them, to have 
assisted in them ; we must reflect upon them, detach them, 
separate them, classify them. " One might pass," says Ar- 
genson, " the whole of a long life in working without princi- 
ples, and thereby learn nothing. Experience is rather the 
fruit of reflection on what we have seen than the result of a 
multitude of transactions to which we have not given the 
attention they deserve." 

3. It aids him in consulting God. The holiest occupations 
can not prosper without this ; how necessary, then, to the min- 
ister ! Let him regulate his remoter conduct, form resolutions, 
deliberate with himself; he will make many false steps, es- 
pecially at the outset, if he does not settle his plans of pro- 
cedure : But let God be called to the consultation, and never 
let Him be away when the deliberations are going on. 

In solitude Prayer finds its natural place, but we shall 
consider it apart as the second means of renewing vocation. 
It is not only a duty and a privilege ; it is not only a prepara- 
tion for the ministry, it is one of its labors for the accomplish- 
ment of which the first ministers of Jesus Christ demanded 
a discharge from certain secondary functions : We must, said 
they, give ourselves to this.— Acts, vi., 4. 

Prayer is necessary to keep us at the proper point of vision, 
which is always escaping from us ; to heal the wounds of self- 
love and of feeling ; to renew our courage ; to anticipate the 
always threatened invasion of indolence, of levity, of dilatori- 
ness, of spiritual or ecclesiastical pride, of pulpit vanity, of 



116 STUDY OF THE BIBLE. 

professional jealousy. Prayer resembles the air of certain 
isles of the ocean, the purity of which will allow no life to 
vermin. With this atmosphere we should compass ourselves 
about, as the diver surrounds himself with the bell before he 
descends into the sea.* 

But the prayer of a pastor is sacerdotal prayer, and as 
such it is a function. It has been said that he who works 
prays ; how much more true is it that he who prays works ! 
Prayer is a work like that of Moses in the mount. Inter- 
cession is what remains to the ministry of the priesthood.! 
It was practiced immediately by the G-reat Pastor and by 
his apostles, who, without ceasing, made mention of their 
flocks in their prayers, at the same time that they claimed 
intercession from their flocks. % 

Another mode of employing the hours of a pastor's retreat, 
and a third means of renewing his vocation, is Study. 

First, the study of the Bible. This, even when divested 
of every thing scientific, is inexhaustible, and leads to new 
discoveries, even to the end of life. For the pastor it is both 
obligatory and necessary ; obligatory, since his business is 
nothing other than preaching the word of God, or according 
to this word ; and thus his ministry will be interesting and 
fruitful in proportion as his word is penetrated with the sub- 
stance, and even with the letter, \ of the Divine word. 

* Frequent prayer is recommended to the pastor by Harms, Pas- 
tor ■altheologie, tome i., p. 25. 

t Not intercession only, but prayer for the coming of God's king- 
dom. See Isaiah, lxii., 6, 7. " Ye that make mention of the Lord, 
give yourselves no rest, and give Him no rest till he establish, and 
till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth." 

t The prayer of Bacon before his study, reported by M. de Vau- 
zelles, Histoire de Bacon, tome i., p. 107. That of Kepler {Scmeur de 
1838, p. 245). See these prayers, and two passages from Massillon, 
in the Appendix, note G. 

ij See 1 Tim., iv., 13, " Give attendance to reading," etc. ; and 2 



STUDY OF THE BIBLE. 117 

I need not enlarge on the richness and the interest of the 
preaching of a minister who does not confine himself to 
knowing certain parts of the Bible, but who understands and 
cites every part. 

The Bible is still more necessary for the care of souls. We 
run the risk of being often unprovided for occasions as they 
arise, if we are not familiar with the word of God. What 
power has a profound knowledge of the Gospel given to cer- 
tain missionaries. They doubtless have not learned it by 
heart, but they have heart-knowledge of it. This is the best 
knowledge, Avhich belongs only to those who have felt its 
power. Let the minister read the Bible as a pastor and as 
a Christian ; there is danger of reading it chiefly as a preach- 
er. He should seek in it, not passages and texts, but pow- 
ers, virtues, inspirations ; otherwise he will consult it no lon- 
ger as a book, but as a collection of verses. 

The holy men, as well as holy words of the Bible, are to 
be studied. We too much neglect this ; lives are the words 
of God. Christianity, in its greatest depth, is not a book, 
though it has a book for its foundation and support ; it is a 
fact and a moral fact. The lives of saints, the lives of pas- 
tors, the lives of missionaries, should generally be studied. 
They tend to keep us at the highest point in our ministry. 
We shall not be kept there if we look only to what is cus- 
tomary. 

The Bible should be studied in the original. Even for the 
country-pastor this study is necessary, for it concerns him to 
be imbued with the spirit of the Holy Scriptures. We may 
doubtless conceive of preaching as attended with the Divine 
blessing, where this means is not used ; but the knowledge 
of the sacred languages is a privilege not to be despised. 

Together with, or rather subordinate to, the study of the 

Tim., hi., 15, 17, "From a child thou hast known the Holy Scrip- 
tures," etc. 



118 STUDY. 

Bible, there are other studies which the pastor should pursue. 
There are abuses here, however, which we shall, in the first 
place, separate. 

1. The study of frivolous things, or study undertaken with 
a frivolous end. We should beware of studying from mere 
curiosity, which only serves to feed our vanity ; and avoid the 
foolish questions of which St. Paul speaks.* 

2. Expecting from study what it can not give, the true 
knowledge of God, the love of God, peace of heart. "When 
knowledge has gone so far as to make our darkness visible, 
it has, as to some things, rendered us the greatest service we 
can receive from it. It is a preparatory teacher ; it is like 
the law, and has the same purpose — " a schoolmaster to bring 
us to Christ ;" but it is not the way, the truth, and the life. 
With much knowledge, we may have no faith ; we may be- 
lieve, and believe truly, without having any knowledge : The 
law of God, still more the Gospel, gives wisdom to the sim- 
ple, f There is, says St. John, an unction which teaches us 
all things, after which we have no need that any one should 
teach us. — John, ii., 27. 

3. Lastly, excess ; that is to say, giving too much of our 
time and strength to a study to which, as it has no other end 
than to prepare us for the ministry, or to give us proper rec- 
reation, the ministry should not be sacrificed. This would 
be neglecting the end for the sake of the means. The least 
of our duties should appear to us more important than the 
most interesting book, and should be able to withdraw us 
from it.$ 

A question, a delicate one, here presents itself; that which 
relates to school-teaching ministers. It was not a delicate 
question some centuries ago, perhaps it will not be always. 

* "Doting about questions and strifes of words." — 1 Tim., vi., 4. 
t " The meek will he teach his way."— Psalm xxv., 9. 
t Le Clitophon, De la Bruyere, Les Caracteres, au chapitre Des Biens 
de. la Fortune. 



STUDY. 119 

It was once thought proper by every one that priests should 
be teachers ; it is otherwise now. Knowledge has been sec- 
ularized ; it has been separated from religion, perhaps, to serve 
it better. Shall we say, however, that teaching school is in- 
compatible with the ministry ? No ; this also is a ministry. 
Still, it is out of place, in the actual relations of life, to con- 
secrate ourselves to the ministry, and afterward be at lib- 
erty to choose between the pastorate and the instruction of 
youth. 

These abuses being removed, we think we may recommend 
to the minister to give a part of his time to study. 

1. He has studied with reference to his functions; what 
he has learned, he has learned that he may apply it in the 
practice of his duties, not the more general results only, but 
also the particular notions. Now it is well known that we 
lose what we do not take care of. Besides, we should not 
think that we learned at the University all that we can learn, 
or all that we need to know. On many important points 
science has renewed itself, perhaps has changed its form, since 
we left the Academy. 

2. There is a disadvantage in occupying the mind with 
only practical, particular, individual questions : It contracts 
the mind, and injures practice itself. Knowledge is the 
remedy. It tends to correct the abuse of practice by theory. 
Bengel thinks it would be well to make trial of the pastoral 
work in the country, and then resume our studies for a time.* 
Thus would life illustrate knowledge, action cast light upon 
thought, and reciprocally. Harms finds motives for cultivat- 
ing knowledge equally in a great and in a small number of 
occupations. 

* When a candidate has passed some time among country people, 
as vicar, in a rural parish, and has learned what is the gustum plebe- 
ium et popularem (how the people look at religion), it is useful for him 
to remit the work for a while, to return to his theology, and to pass 
it in review again with greater application. — Bengel. 



120 STUDY. 

Practice apart, thought is impoverished if we do not study. 
This has been felt by the most lively and productive minds. 
We can not of ourselves nourish ourselves ; we must receive 
in order to produce. Study, it is true, is not confined to read- 
ing : When we have learned something from books, and from 
the book par excellence, as well as from others, we must ex- 
ercise our powers to assimilate it to ourselves, as we do our 
bodily food. But when, without intercourse with books, or 
in the absence of facts, we labor alone, what supports our 
labors besides our own recollections ? Whence come our 
thoughts, if not from facts, or from books, or from social in- 
tercourse, another great book which demands our study ? 
We must study, then, to excite and enrich our own mind by 
means of other men's. Those who do not study find their 
talents enfeebled, and their minds become decrepit before the 
time. In respect to preaching, experience demonstrates this 
most abundantly. Whence comes it that preachers, much 
admired at their beginning, decline so rapidly, or remain so 
much below the hopes to which they had given birth ? Most 
frequently it is because they did not continue their studies. A 
faithful pastor always studies to a certain extent ; besides the 
Bible, he constantly reads the book of human nature, which 
is always open before him ; but this unscientific study does 
not suffice. Without incessant application, we may make 
sermons, even good sermons, but they will all more and more 
resemble each other. A preacher, on the contrary, who pur- 
sues a course of solid thinking, who nourishes his mind by 
various reading, will always be interesting. He who is gov- 
erned by singleness of purpose, will find in all books, even 
in those which do not relate directly to the ministry, some- 
thing which he can use in preaching. 

3. The apostles recommend science or knowledge (2 Pet., 
i., 5, 6) ; there is no difference : For, in saying that knowledge 
puffeth up while charity edifieth (1 Cor., viii., 1), they spoke 
of tho Hanger of knowledge — an inevitable danger, in fact, if 



STUDY. 121 

knowledge is not counterpoised by Christian humility. Knowl- 
edge may even endanger humility ; but it is thus with all 
the developments of human existence, and unless we would 
institute an agrarian law, at once of knowledge and of land, 
we must not think to proscribe the culture of our faculties 
and the development of the mind. If it be said that the 
apostles had no reference to science with its actual develop- 
ments, this was because they had it not before their eyes : 
They sanctioned it, however, without knowing and without 
foreseeing it. It did not depend on them, it does not depend 
on us, to reduce this science to a small number of elements : 
it is what times, and changes, and the adversaries of reli- 
gion themselves have made it. Friends and enemies have 
all contributed their aid ; and it is sufficient for the justifica- 
tion of real science that knowledge has been recommended. 
In knowing, at this time, more than the men of the apostolic 
age, we have not more science than they had ; for our sci- 
ence is nothing more than a response to questions which 
have multiplied since their day. 

Is the study which we recommend only that of theology ? 
But what is theology, unless a point of view (the religious 
point of view) of science, the study of all things as relating 
to religion ? And if the knowledge of the medium in which 
a thing moves is essential to the knowledge of the thing itself, 
what is there that a theologian should be permitted to re- 
main voluntarily ignorant of? What an incomplete, false, 
narrow view would not the theologian have of man and of 
human life, if he knew theology only in the restricted sense 
of this word ! The simplest of ministers, the least learned, in 
order to fulfill his ministry, must necessarily look around him. 
He has also his kind of science — a kind superior in one re- 
spect to the pure science of books ; and in another, to that ig- 
norant, legal, artful exegesis, to that literalism which makes 
no account either of common sense or experience, and which 
infatuates itself with chimeras. All becomes religion for the 

F 



122 STUDY. 

Christian, all becomes theology for the theologian ; all is ap- 
plication or proof of the truth. Study has a very direct prac- 
tical importance. There is no development of the human 
mind which may not be an aid or an obstacle to religion. 
Nothing is indifferent ; all aids or injures. And the most 
scientific doctrines, the most abstract systems, at the end of 
a certain time, descend among the people. 

We have seen how quickly the fountains of thought will 
dry up without study : It is with the mind as with the earth ; 
it is the variety or alternation of culture which maintains its 
fertility.* 

* M. Vinet has added in the margin : " As preaching improves by 
our various reading." This is the complement of the idea. The last 
two paragraphs received some amplifications in the same lecture, 
and we think we ought to reproduce them from the note-books of 
the students. 

" We may think, perhaps, that the minister has quite enough to en- 
gage him in theology ; and that for him the time for studying the 
profane sciences is past. Let us, first, remark that profane is an op- 
probrious term improperly transferred to things which are not wrong 
in themselves. For those with whom religion is not every thing, there 
are, in fact, two spheres, the religious and the profane ; but for the 
Christian nothing is profane ; every thing is subservient to holiness. 
Still, we accept the word, and apply it to sciences which have no nec- 
essary connection with religion. What is the meaning of the word 
theology ? Its first signification is special : according to this, theology 
is distinguished from philosophy, from literature, from art, &c. The 
distinction, no doubt, is useful ; but after carefully defining the prov- 
ince of theology, we must not then maintain that it excludes the oth- 
er sciences. It embraces an immense amount of profane elements ; 
philosophy, history, chronology, grammar, &c. Separating the sci- 
entific elements,, nothing remains but the religion of the community 
of believers. It is important, then, to study all that which, as con- 
nected with religion, constitutes theology. We must not set absolute 
and impassable limits. In a wider sense, we may say that theology 
attracts all to itself, that it subordinates to itself all the sciences, and 
receives from them their tribute. And without disputing as to the 
word theology, consider that there is not a development of the human 



STUDY. 123 

Positions, likewise, are very diverse, and require or permit 
more or less. There is certainly some difference between a 
country and a city pastor. But it would be wrong to think 
that the former might dispense with study ; nay, to him it is 
all the more necessary, as his life is more isolated. We have 
spoken generally ; we have said what ought to be required 
of an ecclesiastic in an ordinary and a tranquil position. He 
ought to apply himself to regular, methodical, specific study ; 
to cultivate science liberally, with candor, with a true spirit 
of research. A minister, doubtless, need not ordinarily re- 
examine the foundation of his faith ; but he may possibly be 
obliged to do this, as is proved by the example of Richard 
Baxter, who, finding himself in doubt about every thing, re- 
established his historical faith by the strongest studies. 

To complete what we have now said on the individual 
life of the pastor, let us add, that he ought to lay out a plan 
of life, to draw out for himself certain rules ; not to allow 
himself, without any resistance, to be borne and led away by 
the flow of hours, and by the flux and reflux of affairs. Cer- 
tainly, no man, in one sense, is less a master of his life than 
he ; nevertheless, he will gain something for his soul, and also 
for his ministry, by introducing into his life as much of regu- 

mind which does not either benefit or injure religion. As it borders 
on every thing, so every thing borders on it. It must embrace all 
life, under penalty, if it does not, of being banished from it. This is 
true now more than ever. Our time, notwithstanding its chaotic as- 
pects, is still a time of organization. Piety only can organize the 
world ; and to be organized, the world must be known. Preaching, 
accordingly, that of the pulpit and that of books, must undergo some 
modifications. The minister must know many things, not to be cum- 
bered with them, but to serve himself of them with reference to the 
one thing needful. The more we sift every thing, the more shall we 
be able " to bring into captivity every thought to the obedience ot 
Christ." — 2 Cor., x., 5. The great awakenings have all been pro- 
moted by science. The Reformers were the learned men of their age. 
Unenlightened men have never succeeded in any thing. — Edit. 



124 ECONOMY OF TIME. 

larity as possible, always prepared, nevertheless, to sacrifice 
regularity to charity. In doing so, he will spare himself much 
trouble, and gain much time.* 

The economy of time is a secret which no one ought better 
to understand than the minister, since no one as much as he 
should reverence time, of which eternity is made. He may 
lose much time without gaining a proportional amount of rest. 
"We save time by doing nothing superfluous, and by not add- 
ing superfluous things to our necessary works, and by com- 
bining some works with others. We save it by knowing how 
to defend it against importunity and indiscretion : It is diffi- 
cult to do this when looked at in a worldly aspect, but easier 
when regarded as a religious duty.f 

We can not here too earnestly recommend to the minister 
the habit of early rising. The hour of dawn is the golden 
hour. Later, there is in the mind a sort of noise of all exter- 
nal and internal ideas. At dawn nothing has preceded our 
impressions, and nothing embarrasses them. Without consid- 
ering that the minister can answer less than another for what 
his day is to be, he ought to appreciate more than any other 
the advantages of this custom. It was thus with the royal 

* Duguet refers to a bishop who dismissed persons who interrupt- 
ed him in his reserved hours with these words : " Sufficient unto 
the day is the evil thereof." — Traite des Devoirs d'un Evcque, art. ii., 
§ 90. 

t An aged American pastor relates that in London, at the begin- 
ning of his ministry, he visited the Rev. Matthew Wilks, who receiv- 
ed him with cordiality. After some moments, when they had told 
each other the most important religious news they had heard, the 
conversation dropped. Mr. Wilks broke the silence by saying, " Have 
you any thing more to tell me 1" " Nothing of special interest." " Do 
you desire any further information from me 1" " None." " Then it 
is best we should separate : I am engaged in my Master's business ; 
good-by, sir." I thus received, continued the pastor, a lesson on the 
impropriety of encroaching on another's hours, and on the firmness 
with which we should defend them. — Anecdotes on the Christian Min- 
istry : an English work. 



ASCETISME. 125 

prophet, who says, " In the morning will I direct my prayer 
unto thee, and will look up." — Ps. v., 4. " My heart said to 
me on thy part, Seek my face."^ — Ps. xxvii., 8. " I prevent- 
ed the dawning of the day, and cried." — Ps. cxix., 147. Now 
who should say this with more propriety than a minister ?t 
Moreover, it is a victory over the senses ; and the minister, 
whatever may be his situation and his views, should act as 
if he were preparing himself for a career of privations and fa- 
tigues : He should, more than any other, be poor in spirit, and 
exercise himself every day in dying to himself. 

This brings us to ascetisme.% 

" Bodily exercise profiteth little," says St. Paul. — 1 Tim., 
iv., 8. He speaks elsewhere of human ordinances, which 
have, as to truth, an appearance of wisdom in will- worship, 
and in a certain humility, in that they do not spare the body, 
and that they have no respect to what may satisfy the flesh. 
—Col., ii., 23. 

Saint Paul is against bodily exercise, apart from piety, to 
which he opposes it in the same verse of the first epistle to 
Timothy ; and certainly such an exercise does profit little. 
He found only an "appearance" in human ordinances, of 
which the principle was self-righteousness and the merit of 
works. He there opposes in advance, and for all times, the 
ever reappearing hydra of self-righteousness. But, on the 
other hand, he would not have us make our liberty a pretext 
for living after the flesh. — Gal., v., 13. He says elsewhere : 
" I keep my body under, and bring it into subjection, lest, aft- 
er having preached to others, I myself should be cast away." 
— 1 Cor., ix., 27. Again, he says : " Make no provision for the 
flesh, to satisfy the lusts thereof." — Rom., xiii., 14. Hence I 
do not think that he has condemned, under the name of bod- 
ily exercise, any thing besides legal practices, " ordinances," 

* The French version. — Tr. 

t Prayer of Bacon. See Appendix, note G. 

% Not asceticism. The French word is retained. — Transl. 



126 ASCETISME. 

as he himself calls it ; I think he does not condemn exercise 
as such — voluntary exercise. I do not find, in truth, a trace 
of fasting, or any thing parallel, in the history of the apostles ; 
but, on the other side, why should these exercises have been 
mentioned if they had a place, since the apostles' aim was not 
to permit abolished servitude to put itself in the place of lib- 
erty ? If these exercises were practiced, it must have been in 
secret ; for they must have conformed themselves to the recom- 
mendation of the Savior : " Thou, when thou fastest, anoint 
thy head and wash thy face, that thou appear not unto men 
to fast, but unto thy Father, who is in secret." — Matt., vi., 17, 
18. Besides, the life which the apostles led was a continual 
fast, which they had no need to aggravate ; exercise was not 
wanting as to them. It is, however, remarkable that St. 
Paul, whose life, certainly, was no less a continual fast than 
that of the other apostles, should have said, " I keep my body 
under, and bring it into subjection."^ — 1 Cor., ix., 27. 

I do not think that, in a more happy external condition, it 
is either forbidden or useless to treat our body with severity, 
and to impose on ourselves, at least now and then, certain pri- 
vations which our ordinary condition does not impose on us. 
Moreover, it is well to break through our habits. Do we 
know to what we are to be called ? As to our liberty to do so, 
" I see that our Lord fasted." — Luke, iv., 21. I see also, in 
many places, that he supposed the legitimacy of these exer- 
cises, forbidding only publicity and ostentation, as the passage 
above cited proves (Matt., v., 17, 18) ; and this other place : 
" When the bridegroom shall be taken from them, then shall 
they fast" (Matt., ix., 13); which presents fasting under a 

* " I was in fasting and in prayers :" Cornelius the centurion. — 
Acts, x., 30. " That ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer." 
— 1 Cor., vii., 5. Fasting is always represented as inseparable from 
prayer ; but voluntary fasting is fully sanctioned by this passage : 
" This kind (of demons) goeth not forth but by prayer and fasting." — 
Matt., xvii., 21. Now we have demons to cast out. 



ASCETISME. 127 

new aspect, that of a memorial or symbol. Jesus Christ does 
not recommend the keeping of the Sabbath any more than 
fasting ; He supposes both. The utility of these exercises 
would be overbalanced, would be absorbed, by the sentiment 
of self-righteousness, if it should mingle itself with our exer- 
cises : But, can not we separate the use from the abuse which 
corrupts it ? We can oppose scarcely any thing to these prac- 
tices, except the idea of Christian liberty ; but in what respect 
does liberty suffer by an action entirely free ? and if there is, in 
fasting, an appearance of humility which deceives, may there 
not be, in the suppression of fasting, a liberty which equally 
deceives ? 

We now see these things only through the abuse which has 
been made of them in the Romish Church ; but is it through 
this medium that we ought to look at them ? I admit that 
Massillon, in his sermon on fasting, presents this practice, and 
recommends it precisely in the sense in which St. Paul con- 
demns it. We must avoid too special prescriptions, which de- 
stroy liberty ; but liberty has been given to us in order to bet- 
ter obedience. 

If it be admitted that bodily exercise, supposing it to be 
free and gratuitous, is generally useful, and even necessary to 
Christians, it were superfluous to insist much on its utility to 
pastors. It is, we may add, unnecessary, in any case, to inflict 
sufferings on ourselves ; but we may refuse ourselves lawful 
enjoyments — even those simple enjoyments, the habitual pri- 
vation of which would constitute a real injury, and be incom- 
patible with our health. 

We ought to remember, in a general way, that the body 
weighs us down ; that by it we are connected with and be- 
long to inert matter ; that it is a weight we must throw over- 
board in order to save the ship. We must not forget that 
the body is likewise a slave who would be the master : The 
Christian should treat it with severity. But it is not an in- 
termittent fast which we need ; it is a continual fast, one of 



128 ASCETISME. 

every day, of the whole life. True fasting, the true askese,* 
should be applied to the appetites of the mind as well as of 
the body. Curiosity, ambition, external activity, the desire of 
influence, the thirst for power, all these appetites, all these 
attractions, which would turn us out of our course, that is to 
say, in reality, make us change our course, are very strong 
and very difficult to vanquish. It is only love, and a holy 
enthusiasm for our profession, which can carry us through. 

* Elsewhere M. Vinet wrote ascese. See page 99. — Edit. 



PART SECOND 

RELATIVE OR SOCIAL LIFE. 



CHAPTER I. 

SOCIAL LIFE IN GENERAL. 



We are not now to treat of pastoral life in the direct and 
actual sense. We are to consider it in its relations to general 
society, regarded, however, from the stand-point and in the 
concerns of the ministry : not the office now, but only the du- 
ties. 

In this view, however, it is the beginning, the nearer bound- 
ary of the ministry. The pastoral impress should show it- 
self in these general relations. If the conduct of the pastor, 
in these general relations, does not announce him as pastor, 
it should at least correspond to this character. If we do not 
recognize him as a pastor, we should at least have no surprise 
on learning that he is one. Let this be his rule and measure. 

It is important for a minister to keep a watch over him- 
self in these social relations. He is a city set upon a hill. 
In the eyes of the world, he is the representative of Christian 
ideas, and the majority judge of Christianity by his example.* 
This, perhaps, will not excuse them, but it involves him in a 
high responsibility. 

* "The people of this world," says Massillon, "regard our life as 
the reality and the just abatement to which they must adhere." (A 
passage already cited, page 69.) 

F2 



130 SOCIAL LIFE IN GENERAL. 

The minister is the official Christian ; he is a symbolic 
man. He is so at all times. Those, then, who are not 
tempted to judge of Christianity by him, will judge him by 
the Christianity he preaches. In reality, these two things 
are not alternatives ; they both exist. We shall be judged 
by Christianity, and Christianity by us. We shall not think 
ourselves obliged to do better, or to be more useful than the 
pastor ; and, on the other hand, we require him to be as per- 
fect as his doctrine. We expect him to be the same when 
we see and when we hear him. And every one knows very 
well what he ought to be, for every one knows what a Chris- 
tian ought to be. And if every one applied to himself the 
rule which he applies to the pastor, every one would be a 
model. Men are apt to frame the most exquisite morality 
as the measure of what is due from their neighbors, and 
the most relaxed morality as the measure of what is due 
from themselves. From these two perils the pastor would 
be tempted to despair, if he did not seek strength from a 
higher source than the world and himself. The world does 
more than judge ; it binds the pastor to a certain mode of 
life. Its claims seem to be contradictory. It would seem to 
require the pastor to be perfect, and to be, at the same time, 
like other men* But we may be certain that it knows what 
the pastor may and ought to be. It is difficult to the minis- 
ter, as well as to the Christian, to be agreeable to every one ; 
and we should never forget the Scripture, "Woe to you when 
all men shall speak well of you !" — Luke, vi., 26. But it is 
possible for him to render himself approved of every one. He 
may say to the world with St. Paul, "We are made manifest 
unto GJ-od, and I trust also are made manifest in your con- 
sciences." — 2 Cor., v., 11. In one sense he must seek this 
approbation : "A pastor," says St. Paul, " must have a good 
report of those who are without" (1 Tim., iii., 7) ; with 

* Isaiah, xxx., 10 ; Matt., xi., 27. " We have piped unto you, and 
you have not danced ; we have mourned, and you have not lamented." 



GRAVITY. 131 

stronger reason, doubtless, of those who are in the Church. 
Thus the approbation of the world, as to all that of which 
the world can judge, is a thing which the minister must seek, 
and which he may obtain. 

It is at once useful and encouraging to a minister to bear 
this in mind, while prescribing it to himself as an end and as 
a supreme rule, " to render himself approved of God" (2 
Tim., ii., 15), and while he is preparing himself to say to the 
world, when it condemns him for what it does not under- 
stand, " With me it is a very small thing to be judged of you, 
or of man's judgment of man" (1 Cor., iv., 3) ; " If I seek to 
please men, I shall not be the servant of Christ." — Gal., i., 
10. If severe consistency is honored even in evil, much 
more will it be in good. The condemnation of the world 
for our acts of fidelity never hurts us, never exposes us to 
contempt. There is a glory in this reproach, while all world- 
ly complaisance or concession weakens, in every sense, our 
ministry, and draws reproach upon us. 

Let us now see what are the principal traits under which 
the minister ought to exhibit himself in the general relations 
of society. 

§ 1. Gravity. 

This quality makes a part of the relative life. "A bishop 
must be grave." — 1 Tim., hi., 2. This, as St. Paul says, is 
one of the first things ; it is the first, as the world says. 

Our translators employ the words grave and gravity to 
render, 

Koofiiog (1 Tim., hi., 2), translated by Luther, sittig ; by 
De Wette, anstcendig ; and by the English, of good behavior. 

lepvog (1 Tim., iii., II, in speaking of the pastor's wife), 
translated by Luther and De Wette, ehrbar ; and by the En- 
glish, grave. 

2£(.iv6t7]s (Tit., xi.,7.), translated by Luther, ehrbarkeit ; 
by De Wette, wurde ; and by the English, gravity. 



132 GRAVITY. 

Gravity, from the word gravis, is the weight, more or less 
considerable, which an interest, an evil, &c, possesses. In 
external life and in manners it is whatever announces that a 
man bears the weight of a great thought or a great respons- 
ibility. The minister is the depositary of so great a thought, 
so great a responsibility, that gravity is but decency in his 
profession. It may be defined, the impress of the respect we 
bear for the object of our mission. 

It is evident that external gravity is true and commenda- 
ble only in so far as it answers to an internal gravity, which 
is the feeling of the weight of the responsibility with which we 
are charged. Gravity is not " a bodily mysteriousness, whose 
end is to hide the weakness of the mind."* 

Nothing is more contrary to gravity than the affectation 
of gravity. "A too studied gravity," says La Bruyere, "be- 
comes ludicrous : extremities meet ; the mean between them 
is dignity. That is not being grave, but acting gravity : He 
who tries to be grave never will be. Either there is no grav- 
ity, or it is natural ; and it is less difficult to descend from it 
than to arise to it."f But much less must we affect the con- 
trary. There have been ecclesiastics who, wishing too much to 
avoid alarming, have ended by compromising. This is seen 
particularly among the Catholics, because the quality of the 
priest — his habits, his dress — distinguish him from the world ; 
and the frivolity by which he would remove the distinction 
makes it more apparent. " Could we not make persons of 
a certain character, and of a serious profession — to describe 
them no further — understand that they need not have it said 
of them that they play, they sing, they joke, like other men ; 
and that, to see them so pleasant and so agreeable, one would 
not think they were also so regular and so strict ? Would 
one even dare to insinuate to them, that, by such manners, 
they remove themselves from that politeness on which they 

* La Rochefoucauld, Reflexions Morales, cclvii. 

t La Bruyere, Les Caracleres ; in the chapter Des Jugemens 



SOCIETY. 133 

pique themselves ; that, on the contrary, politeness suits and 
conforms externals to conditions ; that it avoids contrast, and 
the exhibition of the same man under different figures, which 
make him a fantastic and grotesque compound ?"• 

Gravity shows itself in manners in general, and discourse 
in particular. 

Under the general idea of manners, I class society, recrea- 
tions, occupations, and costume. 

As to society — we should not, certainly, restrict ourselves to 
seeing only one kind of persons, for fear of accrediting the false 
idea that the minister is not a man ; but we should still more 
carefully avoid being seen every where. The pastor is a so- 
cial man — not a man of society, still less a man of the world. 
He should make himself scarce, unless prohibited by charity, 
which alone is allowed to make him common. A man who 
is seen every where can not inspire respect. The judgment 
we form of a pastor who goes much into society is not veiy 
favorable. We suspect him of not being sensible of his du- 
ties, and of the need of solitude. Society multiplies the oc- 
casions for doing good, but much more the temptations to do 
evil. Then there are men whom the pastor should see nei- 
ther at home nor elsewhere. St. Paul charges Timothy to 
avoid certain persons : Men whose lives are bad, and, above 
all, those who have the form of godliness, but deny its power. 
—2 Tim., iii., 5. 

More than another, the minister should be select as to his 
associates. Others will be critical for him, and consequently 
severe, if he is not so for himself. This is important in or- 
der not only to preserve an exterior, to regard conventional- 
ities, but to shun a real danger. To ministers, as well as oth- 
ers, this maxim applies : "Be not deceived : evil communica- 
tions corrupt good manners." — 1 Cor., xv., 33. "Strangers 
have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not ; yea, gray 
hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not." — 

* La Bruyere, Les Caracteres ; in the chapter Des Jugemens. 



134 SOCIETY. 

Hosea, vii., 9. And this, too : "He who loves danger will 
perish in danger." How can he seek bad society, when good 
is so necessary to him, and when he can not be too much sur- 
rounded, too much sustained by those who fear God ? 

Massillon would have a priest see priests only. "Permit 
me here," he says, "to repeat what St. Paul formerly up- 
braided his disciples with, who, instead of addressing them- 
selves to their brethren, to settle their disputes, had recourse 
to gentile judges : Sic non est inter vos sapiens quisquam ? 
What ! can you not find among your brethren wise and ami- 
able ministers to relax yourselves with from the seriousness 
of your occupations ? Sic non est inter vos sajriens quis- 
quam? Is it possible that, amid so many ecclesiastics of 
agreeable manners, edifying, and creditable to you, you need 
to call the world to your aid, and seek recreations where you 
should only be attending to your functions and your labors ?"* 
It would, however, be an exaggeration to hold one's self rig- 
orously to such a rule. We must give no countenance to the 
melancholy idea that the minister is not a man, nor deprive 
him of what society may give, may teach him. 

Moreover, the pastor has a family, a domestic interior, 
which may, if need be, take the place of a more various so- 
ciety. Old relationships, contracted under unhappy auspices, 
are often very embarrassing. We must not disregard the 
past, and break these relationships : All is providential : God 
may serve himself of one to bless another. If it be impossi- 
ble to preserve them, let them be dissolved, but without vio- 
lence. As to our domestic relationships, we must neither 
break nor dissolve, but sanctify them. The family is the 
pastor's first parish. 

Recreations or Relaxations. — It is difficult, on this sub- 
ject, to give very precise rules. When I say that the minister 
has need of recreations as well as another man ; when I say 

* Massillon : Discours sur la Maniere dont les Ecclesiastigues doi- 
vent converser avec les Personnes du Monde. — Premiere Reflexion. 



RECREATIONS. 135 

that, on the other hand, there are recreations which, in a 
simple believer, give no scandal, but which, on the part of 
a minister, may scandalize the weak ; that all which is law- 
ful is not edifying, and that the minister of Jesus Christ should 
always edify ; in short, that, to a certain extent, convention- 
alities vary with places, I say the whole : good sense must 
supply the rest. Only let me remind young candidates of 
the apostle's remark: "Let no man despise thy youth." — 1 
Tim., iv., 12. Notwithstanding the form, this is truly a com- 
mand. And, again, the apostle was careful to say to Timo- 
thy, " Flee youthful lusts." — 2 Tim., ii., 22. This was the 
only means of securing his youth against contempt ; and we 
may suppose that these restrictions were more seasonable in 
youth than afterward. We must take care of indulgence on 
the side to which we are already propense. There are amuse- 
ments which we must renounce : The chase, gaming, the 
theatre ; under a certain form, music, and, in general, a pas- 
sionate taste for any art. None of these things are seemly 
in a minister ; the effect upon him will not be good, and it 
will expose him to censure. 

He must avoid, also, being seen, without necessity, in places 
even the most respectable, where the public come to divert 
themselves. One can not answer for the company which he 
may find there, nor for what may take place there. The 
minister, truly, may adopt this maxim : " It is better to go 
to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting ; for 
that is the end of all men, and the living will lay it to his 
heart." — Eccl., vii., 2. 

"We do not mean that all these abstinences render him 
who imposes them on himself holy. He Avho does not impose 
them on himself, even though he does wrong therein, is per- 
haps holier than one who spares himself none of them. We 
may "strain at a gnat and swallow a camel." — Matt., xxiii., 
24. 

As to occupations, we do not yet say that the minister, ac- 



136 COSTUME. 

cording to the apostolic precept (1 Tim.,iv., 15), should occupy 
himself in these things (that is to say, the things of his minis- 
try), and be always occupied in them. We shall return to this 
subject. But in respect of gravity, and supposing that the 
pastor has more leisure than generally belongs to him, we 
say that every occupation does not accord with the gravity of 
the ministry. I do not like agricultural, industrial feats : If 
a minister has property, let him take care of it ; but let him 
proceed in this kind of work no further than is necessary. 
In things of this kind, the mere reputation of aptitude will 
injure him. 

Costume, or rather dress (for we do not speak of the offi- 
cial costume, or of the insignia of the pastor, in public func- 
tions) — costume has the double object of impressing him who 
wears it and others. 

The importance of this badge varies with time. Our time, 
having little liking for metaphors in social life, or, perhaps, 
seeking other symbols here, seems disposed to abolish gradu- 
ally a solemn costume. But no one, as to this, should be in 
haste to give an example. It is in this almost as with ne- 
ologisms in language, for costume is a language : It must, in 
all cases, be freely accepted. It will always be expected 
that the dress of a minister, if it be not one worn only by 
ministers, should have a uniform and invariable character ; 
while a man of any other profession may vary his apparel. 

It would be better, even, not to wear costume, than in a 
manner to disavow it by negligence or impropriety.* 

Gravity in Discourse. — To speak little is the first rule : 
To joke little is the second :f To discuss moderately, to 

* Propriety, a half virtue, which may unite to itself a true and whole 
virtue. 

t Ephesiaus, v., 4. (EvTpaire\la, scurrilitas). — Nugse in aliis sunt 
nugse, in sacerdotibus blasphemise. 

St. Bernard : Traite de la Consideration, liv. iii., chap. xiii. 
Bien loin aussi le rire intemperant : 
Du rire amer il est peu differant ; 



GRAVITY IN DISCOURSE. 137 

abridge discussions, is the third : Not to have a loud voice 
and high-sounding speech is the fourth. " He shall not cry, 
nor lift up his- voice." — Isaiah, xlii., 2. Calmness is impos- 
ing. Peace is a silent thunder-bolt. " The God of peace 
shall bruise Satan under your feet." — Rom., xvi., 20. I add, 
care to speak of things rather than of persons. I mean, not 
only care to avoid evil speaking, which need not be said, but 
every thing which savors of curiosity, and resembles gossip- 
ing. I do not like, however, an affected reserve. 

Besides, we must remember that the Christian, and with 
greater reason the pastor, should speak according to the ora- 
cles of God (which does not mean only announcing the ora- 
cles of God), that the word of Christ should dwell in him 
richly with all wisdom (Col., iii., 16) ; that his words should 
be seasoned with salt, and communicate grace to those who 
hear ; and that, if every one will be required to give ac- 
count of the idle words which he shall speak, this account 
will be yet more severe for the pastor. It may, perhaps, be 
well to remark, that while prescribing to themselves a kind 
of restraint when in the world, ministers are sometimes tempt- 
ed to be too free among themselves : ecclesiastical gossiping 
has, in certain countries, passed into a proverb.* 

I have but little hope from the official gravity of one (and 
but little respect for it) who, in private, violates the decorum 
which should never be dispensed with in the most intimate 
relationships, though I would by no means deprive ministers 
of the sweets of familiar intercourse. 

Folle gaite degenere en satire ; 

Tel, qui, d'abord, ne riait que pour rire, 

Lance en riant un trait (dard) envenime, 

Et se derobe a lui-meme, 6 delire ! 

En le percant, un cceur qui l'eut aime. 
* " In no profession are there so many story-tellers (Anecdochcn 
Kramer) as in tbe clerical, as there is none that furnishes so many 
anecdotes as this." — Harms. Whence this second circumstance 1 I 
well know that it is so. 



138 SIMPLICITY, MODESTY. 

It is not necessary to be always prescribing rules for the ex- 
ercise of gravity ; on the contrary, this should never be done ; 
for gravity, when it is natural, comes from within. 



§ 2. Simplicity, Modesty. 

Simplicity is opposed to affected dignity and reserve (1 
should say, emphasis, if this word could be applied to man- 
ners as it is to language) ; faults which proceed not from an 
excessive gravity, but from an undue sense of our own im- 
portance and authority. We may, perhaps, look to the severe 
strictures of the world to correct this vanity. The official 
character of the pastor is every day becoming less and less 
imposing ; though every one who is not exceedingly ill bred 
will be disposed to accord to the pastor a certain measure of 
respect, simply on account of his profession and his position 
in the civil community. The external character, the dress, 
are things of small importance, if they have nothing within 
to sustain them. We gain little, on the contrary we lose, by 
claiming a blind respect, and taking a rank in society which 
is not yielded to us. Clerical reserve and stateliness impose 
on but a small number, and I should not recommend them 
even with this small number. It is unworthy of a minister 
to use such means — not to depend simply upon the truth, of 
which" he is the organ, but to seem to think that a myste- 
rious virtue attaches to him. Catholic sermons demand re- 
spect for the priests, a thing which can be better understood, 
since here the priest personifies religion. All this, moreover, 
may be said without prejudice to authority. The minister 
has not to ask pardon for the truth. 

§ 3. Pacific Sjririt. 

Is he not a man of peace, who is called to " make peace" 
(Matt., v., 9) ? who is a minister of that wisdom <; which is 



PACIFIC SPIRIT. 139 

first pure, then peaceable" (James, iii., 17) ; who is a dis- 
ciple and representative of Him who " did not cry, nor con- 
tend, nor lift up his voice in the streets ?" — Isaiah, xlii., 2. 
Moreover, knows he not, from the Bible and from experience, 
" that the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace ?"■ — James, 
iii., 18. " If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live 
peaceably with all men." — Horn., xiii., 18. 

It is precisely because his ministry is a warfare that this 
recommendation is important. It must not be forgotten that, 
as a minister, he stretches out hands " all the day long to a 
rebellious and gainsaying people" (Rom., x., 21) ; that he is 
called to rebuke sinners, and even in certain cases to rebuke 
them publicly (1 Tim., v., 20); that, as a minister and a 
Christian, he appears upon a stage furrowed with contro- 
versies ; that there is not a truth whose remembrance is not 
interlaced with that of an error; that theology is hardly less 
a discussion than an exposition ; that, if his convictions are 
serious, he has borne them away as rich spoils of victory, dip- 
ped in his own blood ; and, in short, that he will have, on 
more than one occasion, to defend the rights of his ministry. 

St. Paul might very properly have thought of all this when 
he said, " That a bishop must not be self-willed (Titus, i., 7) ; 
and " that the servant of the Lord must not love strife." — 
2 Tim., ii., 24. And this not only includes litigation, but dis- 
putes, useless or endless discussions, an impracticable punc- 
tilious spirit, the love of trifles. * 

We can not say that ministers are exempt from this spirit : 
The habit of living always in the same circle of ideas, occu- 
pations, and persons, that of speaking without being contra- 
dicted, so that the first and smallest contradiction surprises 
them, may contribute to it. The world exaggerates, I would 
fain think, when it says that, in general, they are not dis- 
tinguished by the facility of their intercourse, and that they 
are, thorny men, with whom one fears to have to do ; but to 

* Assemblies consuming their time in discussing small concerns. 



140 GENTLENESS. 

silence the world on this point, it is necessary to be of a very 
peaceable spirit. It must be understood that I speak here 
of ordinary occasions of dispute, arising from the ordinary re- 
lations of society, and not of controversies, properly so called, 
nor of the odium theologicum, the best name, it is thought, 
for hatred par excellence ; and with reason, too, for when one 
hates in the name of God, he does not hate by halves. 

It is, surely, enough for a pastor to find contention in the 
precincts of his office, and not to be able to avoid it on that 
stage : He can not restrict himself, like other believers, " to 
replying with gentleness and respect to those who ask a reason 
of his hope." — 1 Peter, iii., 15. He must, perhaps, engage 
in discussion, if there is every security for seriousness, order, 
and decorum : But, on the one hand, he ought not to " cast 
pearls before swine ;" on the other, he is more frequently 
called to expound than to discuss, and he should not too eas- 
ily give up the first of these positions. There is a way of 
retaining it ; a peaceful spirit is not a stupid one. 



§ 4. Gentleness,. 

" Let your moderation be known unto all men." — Phil., 
iv., 5. There is something particularly imposing in gentle- 
ness, since we can not but be struck with it at the first view. 
"We shall speak more at large of the charity of the pastor 
when we are to examine his office ; it is there that it fully 
displays itself. Here we have only to look at his gentleness, 
that is to say, his exhibition of obliging, affable, prepossessing, 
amiable qualities in the ordinary relations of society. He is 
the man of the good God : He is the representative of mercy : 
He ought not to repel, but to attract : But all must come 
naturally, without affectation ; there should be no studied 
part ; for a studied part in this matter is never well acted 
His goodness is not soft and effeminate, but manly. Better a 
little rudeness than that benign and paternal air which some 



LOYALTY, INTEGRITY, CANDOR. 141 

adopt in despite of their nature. Charity has sometimes 
rudeness for its true form ; gentleness is sometimes treachery ; 
we may exercise charity in vehemence and indignation. But 
a rude, magisterial air, a short, reprimanding tone, or one of 
impatience, of* humor, of haughtiness, or a want of politeness, 
or even an air of indifference and ennui (all things not en- 
tirely inconsistent with charity), how much will they not in- 
jure the minister and the ministry ! 



§ 5. Loyalty, Integrity, Candor. 

It was to ministers that it was said, " Be wise as serpents, 
and harmless as doves." — Matt., x., 16. These two precepts 
are presented in the text as having their ground in the same 
fact ; namely, that the apostles, in the midst of the world, 
would find themselves as sheep in the midst of wolves. Jesus 
Christ hence inferred the double necessity of being harmless 
and wise. Perhaps, also, it must be understood that he rec- 
ommends them to be wise, consistently with integrity and 
candor. The first interpretation is more literal, the second 
more natural. We may admit them both. Candor is neces- 
sary, because wisdom is so. The minister knows better than 
any other what consequences a single word may involve, and 
consequences, as to him, are eternal and terrible. Wisdom 
is so strongly recommended to a minister, that we think he 
can not have too much of it. Even in the most favorable 
circumstances, the difficulty of his position tempts him to be 
prudent to excess. What dangers ! Mere inadvertences, in- 
consideration, vivacity, even accidentally neglecting to avoid 
the appearances of evil, proceedings which repel and alarm, 
indiscretion in words, precipitancy in judgments, ill-placed 
confidence ; the possibility of being engaged and drawn away 
by what does not pertain to him, and is inconsistent with his 
character ; the thought that there are so many who, without 
seeming to do so, without saying any thing, have an eye upon 



142 LOYALTY, INTEGRITY, CANDOR. 

him, spy out his first weakness, take note of it in order to 
justify their opposing him, or, rather, make him their au- 
thority for hardening themselves after his example to do evil, 
or who seek to put him in contradiction with himself, and 
give him a bad standing with the world, with the civil au- 
thority, with those of whom he has the confidence : — how 
many things are there to render him not only wise, but mis- 
trustful, reserved, and suspicious ! If he do not consider all 
this, he risks much ; if he consider it too much, he loses that 
simplicity of the dove which is his duty, his character, his first 
interest, since public confidence is his first want ; in short, 
which on almost every occasion is better than all calculations. 
Nothing, in fact, disconcerts artful people like simplicity ; 
they do not comprehend it ; they can not anticipate it. It 
is impossible to estimate the influence of these transparent 
characters. Finesse, on the contrary, so inspires distrust, that 
even the reputation of shrewdness injures more than it helps 
us : We can command the confidence of the world only by a 
consistent exhibition of the greatest candor. 

St. Paul deeply felt these truths. He testifies more than 
once that his conduct was without artifice. — 2 Cor., iv., 2. 
It rejoices him to say, that in him there was no yea and nay. 
— 2 Cor., i., 18. He ventures to rebuke an apostle who did 
not walk uprightly. — Gal., ii., 14. 

This condemns falsehood, inaccurate statements, dissimu- 
lation, breaking one's word, or a facility in forgetting one's 
engagements, artifices and evasions, an extreme reserve, cen- 
sures or complaints in the way of insinuation, cowardly allu- 
sions, groundless mistrust, excessive precautions, diplomacy, 
which some consider an honor to ministers, etc. 

Nothing is more opposed to candor than party spirit, which 
believes only itself, never really discusses, hears only for form's 
sake, neither allows that we are wrong, or that we are igno- 
rant ; colors, palliates, explains without end, distinguishes 
without ceasing, and thinks it is to be strong and to manifest 
power, never to make a concession. 



DISINTERESTEDNESS, 143 

§ 6. Disinterestedness.* 

Disinterestedness, certainly, is but one form of a general 
virtue, the abnegation of self. It is necessary, however, to 
say something of self-denial in this particular — detachment 
from worldly gain. Absolute disinterestedness is complete 
indifference of heart for temporal goods. This degree of per- 
fection is certainly too little sought by the majority ; and we 
know, also, that it is realized by no one : But, nevertheless, 
it is an object for which we should strive ; and to strive for 
it, a pastor, besides general reasons which we shall not men- 
tion, has particular ones of which we must speak. 

1. The spirit of the ministry is a spirit of consecration. 
The minister has already renounced his life : He has sacri- 
ficed the greater, how can he retain the less ? For him 
were written the words, " He who putteth his hand to the 
plow, and looketh back, is not fit for the kingdom of God." 
— Luke, ix., 62. " Every man that striveth is temperate in 
all things." — 1 Cor., ix., 25. Consecration is incompatible 
with the love of riches. "The hireling seeth the wolf com- 
ing ; he forsaketh the sheep, and fleeth." — John, x., 12. 

2. Our mission, our avowed undertaking, is to detach from 
the earth those to whom we preach. "We endeavor to make 
them covet the happiness of the poor in spirit (or of voluiv 
tary poverty). How can we do this with freedom, with force, 
with success, if we ourselves are attached to those goods from 
which we would detach them ? How, in proportion as we 
preach detachment, do we increase our condemnation if we 
remain ourselves enchained to the goods of the present life ? 
The more we preach to others, though it be with success, shall 
we not be the more sure of being cast away ? — 1 Cor., ix., 27. 

* Ft., Desinleressement. There is no English word of precisely the 
same meaning with this. Disinterestedness is used to avoid circum- 
locution. The exact meaning of it here will not be mistaken by the 
reader. — Tr. 



144 DISINTERESTEDNESS. 

3. We are representatives of Jesus Christ, who made him- 
self poor. — 2 Cor., viii., 9. Was it without meaning that 
he made himself poor ? Was it not enough to become man ? 
He had not what the birds had, a nest ; nor the foxes, a 
hole : he had not where to lay his head. A single passage 
in the Gospel speaks of a place where, at a certain time, 
Jesus Christ dwelt ; and nothing leads us to think that it 
was more than a temporary abode. — John, i., 38, 39. 

4. We are representatives of Christianity, the spirit of 
which is not to depend on the visible, but on the invisible, 
and which seeks security where others think to find danger, 
I mean in a precarious situation.* Can we have a spirit 
different from it, and yet represent it faithfully, seeking not 
security only, which even is perhaps too much, but comfort, 
superfluity, and wealth ? 

5. The minister is the great almoner of the Church. Dis- 
tributor of the wealth of others, he ought also to do as much 
as possible from his own means ; even when it would seem 
that he might be a receiver, it will be expected of him to 
give. Now the love of worldly good excludes charity and 
alms-giving. 

6. It was said directly to ministers, " The love of money is 
the root of all evil ; which, while some coveted after, they 
have erred from the faith ; but thou, man of God, flee 
these things." — 1 Tim., vi., 10, 11. We may well say, sure- 
ly, Have erred from the faith, since Judas for silver betrayed 

* Jesus Christ desired ministers who would of choice and from 
love fulfill the office of embassadors : But how do the prospects of 
fortune, and even too much security for the future, tend to obscure 
the evidence of their vocation 1 Precariousness is the soul of every 
thing pertaining to Christianity, and works of faith prosper only by 
the principle which has given them existence. It was to consecrate 
this principle that Jesus Christ made himself poor in every sense, that 
his disciples did so after him, and that St. Paul lived from the work of 
his hands ; " wearying himself even by working with his own hands." 
—1 Cor., iv., 12. 



DISINTERESTEDNESS. 145 

his master. This avarice is the principle of unfaithfulness 
and prevarication. It is very remarkable that the fear of 
prison and of death has made fewer apostates than the love 
of money. But without speaking of formal apostasy, we may 
say that no vice is so destructive of virtue, or more incom- 
patible with all elevation of soul and spirit.^ It is, perhaps, 
the most absorbing passion : " Greediness of gain takes away 
the soul of those who are addicted to it." — Prov., i., 19. 

7. Again, nothing more estranges the heart and destroys 
confidence than avarice ; I say not scandalous avarice, but 
the first appearance of it, or even the mere thought that disin- 
terestedness is wanting. The mercenary pastor draws around 
him only mercenary souls like himself. " The sheep will not 
follow a stranger." — John, x., 5. The living, will seek for 
the living, the dead will stay with the dead. While, on the 
contrary, disinterestedness convinces before examination, im- 
plies sincerity, and presupposes truth. Charity, in the eyes 
of the world, covers a multitude of sins. 

8. Frankness readily deserts him who is held in the igno- 
ble bonds of interest, not only because interest weakens in us 
the principle of this virtue, but because it is not always pos- 
sible to be frank when we are not independent. A secret, dis- 
honorable instinct impels us to management even when it is 
useless. 

9. Even the appearance of this vice is to be dreaded, be- 
cause it is the first thing which infidels suspect or espy in 
those who believe. This is natural : Religion is so powerful 
that it engages us to make all sacrifices in favor of eternity ; 
and these sacrifices are made with ease, and they are often 
made to the profit of those who represent the interest or the 
idea of eternity. 

In all human religions, it has been seen that the supersti- 
tious terrors of the human heart have been made to subserve 

* " Nihil est tam angusti, tamque parvi quam amare divitias."— 
Cicero : De Officiis, lib. i. 

G 



145 DISINTERESTEDNESS. 

the cupidity of certain individuals. St. Paul readily recog- 
nized that there were, and always would be, persons who 
make piety a means of wealth, and he exhorts Timothy to 
separate himself from them, more, unquestionably, by a life 
different from theirs, than by care to shun their company. — 1 
Tim., vi., 5. He stigmatizes, no doubt, sordid and hypocrit- 
ical ministers in 2 Tim., iii., 6, 7 : " Of this number are those 
who creep into houses, and lead captive silly women, laden 
with sins, possessed with divers lusts ; ever learning, and nev- 
er able to come to the knowledge of the truth." After, as 
well as before the time of Jesus Christ, there were those " who 
devoured widows' houses, and for a pretense made long pray- 
ers." — Matt., xxiii., 14. We do not see these scandals about 
us, but yet they are possible, and they sometimes appear in 
another form. A pastor may take advantage of his influence 
over his charge to indulge in pleasures which should be re- 
pressed. This makes the world suspicious : they are very 
apt to think that ministers are covetous ; whether it be that 
this is the vice which oftenest appears, or that it is the one, 
in fact, to which we are most liable, it is that of which the 
world most frequently accuses us. The minister, by watch- 
fulness, may readily avoid certain deviations, but avarice glides 
easily into the heart ; and there are many ministers who ex- 
pose themselves to this reproach, if no other. Wrongly or 
rightly, it is often ascribed to them.* 

We must not be surprised that St. Paul directed himself 

* " This vice, it would seem, is a curse attached to the priesthood." 
— Massillon, neuvieme discours synodal: De V Avarice des Pretres. 
" The world regards almost all of us as infected, soiled by this hide- 
ous leprosy. A priest and a covetous man it regards as identical." — 
Massillon, troizieme discours synodal : De la Compassion des Pauvres. 

" Episcopi plurimi, quos et ornamento esse oportet caeteris et exem- 
plo, divina procuratione contempta, procuratores rerum saecularium 
fieri ; derilecta cathedra, plebe desertd, per alienas provincias ober- 
rantes, negotiationis, quaesturae nundinas ancupari." — Cyprian, De 
Lapsin. 



DISINTERESTEDNESS. 147 

particularly to this point. He saw the danger ministers were 
in of falling into avarice, and the danger of their being ac- 
cused of it. He anticipated this double evil. He was not 
content with saying, " That a bishop must not be given to 
filthy lucre." — Tit., i., 7. He contends more forcibly, by in- 
direct means, but especially by his example, which, humble 
as he is, he ventures to set forth and remark upon : "We 
have wrought with labor and travail, night and day, that we 
might not be chargeable to any of you," etc. — 2 Thess., hi., 
8, 9. See, also, 1 Cor., iv., 12. In the ninth chapter of the 
first epistle to the Corinthians, the apostle recognizes, as he 
does elsewhere (1 Tim., v., 17, 18), the duty of believers to as- 
sist their pastors ; but he renounces for himself all advantage 
from this right. In verses 14-19, of the twelfth chapter of 
the second epistle which he addresses to them, he abandons 
every sort of right ; he gives without any hope or any claim 
of requital. 

In taking leave, at Miletus, of the pastors of Ephesus, Paul 
reminds them of his conduct in this respect, and thence de- 
duces for them this lesson : " I have coveted no man's sil- 
ver or gold, or apparel ; yea, ye yourselves know that these 
hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them who 
were with me. I have showed you all things, how that so 
laboring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember 
the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed 
to give than to receive." — Acts, xx., 33-35. And this truly 
was the spirit of pastors in the primitive Church, and of 
bishops long afterward, who gave away all their goods. 

All Scripture brands avarice as a vice the most fatal to 
the ministry. It makes " hireling" a name for a bad minis- 
ter.^ 

* Numerous passages of Holy Scripture against avaricious or mer- 
cenary pastors : Isaiah, lvi., 11 ; Jer., vi., 13 ; Ezek., xxxiv., 1, 3; 
Micah, hi., 11; Matt., xv., 5, 6; xxiii., 14. — Passages collected by 
Bridges. 



148 AVARICE. 

After showing the importance of avoiding avarice, let us 
say that it is a vice by which we are incessantly beset. Not 
without reason did our Savior say : " Take heed, and beware 
of covetousness" (Luke, xii., 15) ; and desired his apostles to 
take no purse with them. Judas, nevertheless, carried the 
bag ; there was then a steward, but this does not impair our 
rule. 

1 . This vice may glide into our heart under favorable ap- 
pearances the best fitted to deceive us, by pretexts the best 
fitted to seduce us, and by the most insensible gradations. 
We may be prodigal, and at the same time avaricious, and 
the first of these vices may deceive us as to the second. We 
may be decidedly, and for a long time avaricious, without sus- 
pecting it. Of all sophisms, none does more evil than that 
we owe all our wealth to our children ; we forget that, be- 
fore all, we owe it to God. With many people, avarice is a 
mental mistake, joined, it is true, to a malady of the heart. 
Francis de Sales says that, in the whole course of his practice 
as a confessor, he heard no one blame himself with avarice. 

2. It is a vice which inherits from all others, and in which 
is concentrated every unlawful desire of the heart. It grows 
with years ; we may be avaricious when we are no longer 
able to indulge other passions. 

3. It is the vice most compatible with the outward forms 
of Christianity, with decency, and a certain gravity of man- 
ners, although there is a point at which it becomes scandal- 
ous. Paul doubtless considered it as having reached this 
point when he said, " If one called a brother is avaricious, 
do not eat with such a man." — 1 Cor., v., 11. Avarice then 
might more easily become scandalous than now, by its con- 
trast with that disinterestedness which led the brethren to 
have all things in common. This is not the case with us, 
and now it is more difficult to detect this vice. 

4. It is the vice to which we are most exposed by our po- 
sition, which peremptorily cuts us off from all other vices, 



AVARICE. 149 

and permits us this one ; it seems in some way to breathe it- 
self into us, by means of those petty calculations to which it 
forces us. 

5. Finally, it is the vice most difficult to eradicate. Once 
give it footing, reason, ridicule, self-love, modesty, can not pre- 
vail against it.* 

What the duty of disinterestedness includes : 

1. Not to embrace the ministry from motives of interest : 
" Taking the oversight of the flock of God, not for unlawful 
gain (filthy lucre), but of a ready mind."— 1 Peter, v., 2. 
The unlaivful gain of which St. Peter speaks is gain coveted. 
This unlaivful gain is well commented on in these words : 
" Freely ye have received ; freely give." — Matt., x., 8. The 
supplies of believers, then, though due to them, are not a sal- 
ary, but a subsidy — a succor. " Those who serve the altar are 
partakers with the altar." — 1 Cor., ix., 13. The idea of gra- 
tuity then remains, and we have seen how St. Paul labored 
to consecrate it by his example. The hireling is likened to a 
thief. — John, x. Micah, after having said, in order to show 
the iniquity of Jerusalem, " The heads thereof judge for 
rewards," adds, "the priests thereof teach for hire, and the 
prophets thereof divine for money." — Mic, iii., 11. Our in- 
stitutions, in this respect, offer advantages. One may, in- 
deed, become a minister for the sake of the prebend ; but no 
bait is offered to cupidity ; he is made to wait long for the 
ease which is promised him.f We may then readily apply 
to the minister these words of the Savior : "Ye seek me not 
because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the 
loaves and were filled." — John, vi., 26. 

2. Not to take advantage of our position for the sake of 

* Imagination has to do with this vice. See Advices of Madame 
Guizot, Education Domestique, Letter xxxi. 

t Tandem respicit inertem sera tamen. " Ease is seen at length, but 
late, by him who does nothing to acquire it." Allusion to the 27th 
verse of the first Eclogue of Virgil. — Ed. 



150 RULES RELATIVE TO DISINTERESTEDNESS. 

gain. This sort of selfish calculation is not always possible. 
Nevertheless, the independence of the ministry may be easily 
compromised by those cajoleries, those presents, which can not 
always be refused. # Affection, even delicacy, may sometimes 
require that they be accepted ; but one " should guard him- 
self well, lest he be penetrated with the love of gain." 

3. Not to seek, in foreign occupations which are not suit- 
able to us, the means of improving our position. 

4. To be, in money matters, as free and liberal as our po- 
sition will admit. 

As to the means of being disinterested : There is an econ- 
omy which preserves us from avarice or its paroxysms ; for 
prodigality and disorder often make us avaricious. It is with 
money as with time : he who manages it the best has the 
most to give to others. In the same way, also, a man of 
economy is in the best condition to be liberal on appropriate 
occasions. To be disinterested, we must have no expensive 
fancies, and not be too much taken up with the things of 
sense, of the flesh, or vanity. Certain habits procure so little 
pleasure to many of those who give themselves up to them, 
that one might say that they are sought as a means of try- 
ing new modes of existence, or of multiplying, not their en- 
joyments, but their sensations. 

This means supposes another, which is the chief and the 
only efficacious one : This is charity. We may correct a vice 
by a virtue. It is necessary to displace avarice, according 
to a beautiful thought of Gluesnel, who says that " the pas- 
sion of always gaining more souls to God is the only avarice 
permitted to a pastor." 

The maxims of the Catholic Church on this subject are re- 
markable. " The good pastor," says St. Cyran, " loves the 
poor, and bestows upon them the whole of his goods."! 

* These are but casual ; nevertheless, private religious instruction ; 
in some places, funeral services, marriages, &c. 
t Saint Cyran : Pensees sur le Sacerdoce. 



GENERAL INFLUENCE. 151 

The Catholic Church reproaches the priests who have prop- 
erty.* Many have even maintained that, according to the 
example of the bishops of the early age, the priest should 
once for all deprive himself of every thing. Duguet repress- 
es this idea, but with caution and deference.! It is evident 
that the unmarried pastor is more free in this respect than 
the pastor who is married. The latter ought not to deprive 
himself of his goods, but to use them, and to administer them 
himself according to the will of God who has given them to 
him. Jesus Christ said to his Father, " I pray not that thou 
shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst 
keep them from the evil." — John, xvii., 15. 



§ 7. The Minister in Relation to the general Interests of 
Society. 

We have shown under what characteristics the pastor 
should appear, and how he should announce himself. It is 
every one's duty to preach by example. It remains to ask 
what, apart from his pastoral functions, should he be in his 
relations to general society. Does he belong only to his par- 
ish ? does he belong only to religion ? Should he remain a 
stranger to the high interests of society ? 

It appears at first that, as religion adopts the whole of hu- 
man life in order to elevate it, the pastor, who is the most 
perfect representative of religion, ought, in the same degree, 
to be a representative of human life. 

There are striking instances of priests and monks, who 
were distinguished as instruments of civilization, promoters 
of science, % etc. 

* See, on this point, Massillon, in many passages, and, for exam- 
ple, in his synodal discourse, Sur la Compassion des Pauvres. 

t Lettres sur differents Sujets de Morale et de Pietc, t. ii., p. 6 et 22. 

t See Malte-Brun : Melanges Scientifiqucs ct Litteraires, tome i., 
page 324 (On the Norwegian Clergy). 



152 SPECIAL ACTIVITY. 

The nature of his studies and the exercise of his functions 
develop faculties in the minister which, in the different 
spheres of human life, find an abundant application. 

Talleyrand has said that nothing so prepares one for di- 
plomacy as theology.* In fact, the studies of the ministry are 
more comprehensive than all others ; the study of theology 
is more humanizing than any other, even than that which 
has social interest and social affairs for its object. 

We agree to all this, and we acknowledge that duties may 
vary with times ; but we must make the following reserva- 
tions : 

1. Religion is a speciality. It embraces every thing, it 
penetrates every thing, but it is not every thing ; it is itself. 
To connect itself usefully with the things of life, it must sep- 
arate itself from them. Christianity has been in no haste to 
mix itself with the life of the people, or, where it has done 
so, it has been dynamically, as a spirit. It should be the 
same with each individual. He must be well rooted at the 
centre, to spread his shade over the circumference. Let the 
minister be first of all occupied with his own affairs ; let him 
be solely a Christian and a minister : As a consequence, his 
branches will spread out, and his beneficent shade extend it- 
self over all the affairs of society. 

2. There is, in the direct and immediate purpose of the 
ministry, so much good to be done, that one need not run 
after indirect good. The minister should seek to give a point 
of rest to the human family, and this resting-point is religious 
truth : When humanity shall have found it, then it will march 
directly to its destination. The minister may honor his mis- 
sion by conferring external advantages ; still, when there 
are others to do this, let him confine himself to his calling. 
He may employ himself in agriculture, when it is necessary, 
also in schools, and in religious music ; but, before every 
thing, he should be about his ministry. Nevertheless, when 

* Eloge du Comte de Reinhard. 



aUESTION AS TO POLITICS. 153 

it is his duty to act, as did Oberlin and Felix NefT, by all 
means let him do it without hesitation ! 

3. Is it not an advantage for the minister to be compro- 
mised in nothing, and to be able to come in as an arbiter in 
every thing, being, as he will be in that case, personally aloof 
from every thing ? If, on the contrary, he interferes too read- 
ily in the things that do not concern his ministry, he will 
often find himself a judge and a party, and will no longer be 
able to pronounce so impartially. 

4. The danger to religion is great when a minister, as a 
minister, mixes himself with temporal interests, and gives to 
religion a kind of authority and competency which is incon- 
sistent with it. What stains will it receive ! 

Let us touch upon a particular point — politics. Let us dis- 
tinguish it from patriotism, which, if not a Christian virtue, 
is at least an affection which Christianity adopts and sanc- 
tifies, and a duty to which, as to all others, it lends the force 
of its teachings : Jesus Christ experienced this affection ; Je- 
sus Christ has recognized this sentiment ; and St. Paul in like 
manner.* Participation in political affairs is neither the only 
nor the best mark which a citizen can give of his patriotism ; 
it is one among other specialities that we do not think forbid- 
den to Christians, but it is by no means imposed upon them. 

It has seemed desirable to some persons that ministers 
should engage in politics.! I do not think it the part of a 
pastor ; as for one who has no longer the care of souls, and 
who has become a politician, he changes Ins career, that is 

* Romans, ix., 1-5. 

f " Nothing in the interests of humanity," says M. Naville, " appears 
to be a greater mistake than to wish to banish from assemblies, from 
theatres, from debates, and the periodical press, from the spheres 
where thoughts and sentiments are agitated, the very men whose 
presence and influence are required to give them a salutary result." 
— Memoire sur V Amour de la Patrie Suisse, p. 98, 99 : Geneve, 1839. 
See, also, the work of Dr. Brown, The Law of Christ respecting civil 
Obedience, p. 228. 



154 POLITICAL ACTIVITY. 

all. It is not for us to judge him ; and, in general, we would 
not condemn him ; we must suppose that he has renounced 
the ministry proper, for which these occupations are far from 
preparing him. But how can a pastor intermeddle with 
politics without destroying his success, and even his respect- 
ability as a minister ? 

I do not speak precisely of the presence of pastors in as- 
semblies representing the nation : That does not constitute a 
political career; but, in general, they are, when there, hardly 
in their place. # It would not, perhaps, be just to exclude 
them ; but they would do well voluntarily to exclude them- 
selves. There is too great a distance between the political 
and the pastoral life : Pastors do not acquire, from the ex- 
ercise of their functions, the kind of spirit which these assem- 
blies demand, nor reciprocally : We should expect to see them 
preaching there : As to religious questions, which should never 
be discussed there, there is no need of the presence of minis- 
ters in order that they may be well treated : The stains of 
political discussion are too easily seen on the pastoral robe — 
ministers can not avoid hearing things there which their pro- 
fession at the same time urges and forbids them to answer. 

There is another way. and there are other channels, through 
which religion may infuse itself into politics. 

Politics, in promoting religion, has forced religion to promote 
politics ; but both, in this course, have been corrupted, and 
the second more than the first. Burnet, who knew how to 
speak on this subject, has some remarks on the injury which 
religion does itself by mixing itself with politics (a thing in- 
evitable, I affirm, in the union of Church and State), which 
I will cite here : " Politics and parties eat out among us 
not only study and learning, but the only thing which is still 
more valuable than study and learning; I mean, religious sen- 
timent, and a sincere zeal to obtain results for which the Son 

* It is not even seen that the deliberations of ecclesiastical bodies 
are profitable to them. 



POLITICAL ACTIVITY. 155 

of God was willing to live and die, and to which those who 
are engaged in his service have promised to consecrate their 
lives and their labors." In short, let us not condemn before- 
hand all extension of the ministry, nor undertake to define 
its limit ; we think that, at the exigency of the times, it is 
susceptible of an indefinite extension ; but these times have 
their signs, which it is necessary to attend to and to under- 
stand.^ 

* Is the ministry, as it is now understood and practiced, restricted 
within the limits of the primitive ministry 1 



156 DOMESTIC LIFE OF THE MINISTER. 



CHAPTER II. 

DOMESTIC LIFE OF THE MINISTER. 

§ 1. General Reflection?, — Marriage a?id Celibacy — The 
Pastor's Wife. 

The Gospel is not silent on this subject : "A bishop must 
be blameless, the husband of one wife, sober, prudent, grave, 
hospitable, apt to teach ; one that ruleth well his own house, 
having his children in subjection with all decorum ; for if a 
man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take 
care of the Church of God ? Even so must their wives be 
grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things." — 1 Tim., 
iii., 2, 4, 5, 11. "For this cause left I thee, that thou 
shouldst ordain pastors ; if any be blameless, the husband of 
one wife, having faithful children, not accused of riot, or un- 
ruly. For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of 
God ; not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no 
striker, not given to dishonest gain ; but a lover of hospital- 
ity, a lover of good men, wise, just, holy, temperate." — Tit, 
i., 5-8. 

These passages suppose the minister to be married, and to 
be a father of a family ; but they do not strictly prescribe 
marriage to a pastor. If it be said that this is necessary to 
his being in all things " an example of the believers, " # we 
reply that it is not necessary to be in this particular state 
in order to be an example to those who are in it. This sup- 
position would be absurd, and contrary to the spirit of the 
Gospel, which does not confine us within these literal rules ; 

* " Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, 
in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." — 1 Tim., iv., 12. "In all 
things showing thyself a pattern of good works." — Tit., ii., 7. 



MARRIAGE AND CELIBACY. 157 

of which we have a proof, for example, in the forms under 
which the four evangelists relate the same fact. We every- 
where meet in the Gospel with the same large and liberal 
character. Our Lord is none the less a model to us in all 
things, although he sustained only the general relations of 
humanity. In short, St. Paul, the author of all the passages 
which we have now cited, was himself an unmarried man. 

St. Paul, who has claimed the right of marriage for all, has 
no less honored celibacy, recommending it not merely as con- 
venient in times when the Church was in peril, but as a 
means of more perfect devotion to God. — 1 Cor., vii., 32, 35. 
He does but reproduce the thought of Christ himself. — Matt., 
xix., 10-12. In giving these counsels of perfection, the uni- 
versal realization of which would be incompatible with the 
existence of society, he falls into no contradiction with him- 
self, since, if this should be so realized, the society of earth 
would simply become the society of heaven. Celibacy, in 
the spirit in which Jesus Christ practiced it, would not in- 
jure the world ; and this is the only point about which there 
is a question ; the words of Jesus Christ give us well enough 
to understand that such a celibacy would never be more than 
a rare exception. 

St. Paul, and his Master before him, in the passages we 
have now cited, had in view no particular class in the Church ; 
but still a counsel of perfection to the Church must have spe- 
cial regard to pastors. 

When a minister shall find himself disposed to celibacy by 
a special impulse of the spirit, let him not fear to be, on that 
account, less useful to the Church ; for marriage might not 
render him more useful, perhaps it would less, than a pure 
and devoted celibacy. And perhaps it is to be regretted, if 
not that there are so few unmarried ministers, at least that 
there are not more who feel in themselves a disposition for 
this state. There are times and situations in which an un- 
married minister could render to the Church services which 



158 MARRIAGE AND CELIBACY. 

a married one could not render so well. Men who have 
accomplished very great things out of the religious sphere 
have lived in celibacy, or in a state of marriage but little 
different from celibacy. Voluntary celibacy, moreover, does 
not put a minister into an estate of hostility to society. 

But the celibacy of the pastor is good only as a positive and 
special call, under the general call of a pastor. If it be not a 
thirst for purity and for devotion which has counseled or im- 
posed it, it is, even with the greatest decorum of manners, 
rather evil than good. I should fear that it would induce 
habits little regular and little consistent with the dignity of 
the pastor.* I should fear its purity would be suspected, for 
in such a state a very high degree of sanctity is necessary 
to exclude every unfavorable idea. It is very true that there 
is, in the idea of a strictly honorable celibacy, something pure 
and angelic, but it is indispensable that our celibacy should 
have this reputation. 

As a general rule, when celibacy is not a sacrifice to the 
kingdom of God, marriage is preferable. It is certain that 
if the ministry do not gain from the celibacy of the pastor, 
it loses. For in this case there is no more of devotion, and 
it may render less useful that which one has. Taking men 
as they are, the married pastor is more useful, all other things 
being equal, than the unmarried. In a well-chosen marriage, 
in a family life, there is first the advantage of a model pre- 
sented to the parish and to the world ; and then the pastor 
may have useful co-operation, if his wife be truly what she 
ought to be.f 

* The ennui of an absolute solitude will naturally lead a pastor to 
seek diversions and relaxations abroad, when he can not find them at 
home. Long and frequent visits, loungings, &c. 

t Harms goes too far, not in making marriage the rule and celiba- 
cy the exception, for we do the same, but in making marriage a mat- 
ter of absolute necessity and obligation in respect to the pastor, so 
that the pastor is not completely a pastor if he be not married (111, 
182). 



CHOICE OF A WIFE. 159 

This leads us to speak of what the wife of a pastor should 
be. This point is so important, that we think celibacy much 
preferable to a marriage, otherwise well chosen and happy, 
but badly chosen and unhappy in this, that the woman has 
espoused the man, and not the pastor ; or, if you please, to a 
marriage in which a minister has had in view himself rather 
than his ministry. 

The first ministry of a pastor is that of a good example, 
and St. Paul associates the wife in this ministry when he de- 
sires that the wives should be " grave, not slanderous ; that 
they should be sober and faithful in all things." — 1 Tim., 
iii., 11. This was thought to be of so much importance in 
certain Churches, those of Hungary, that the minister was 
made absolutely responsible for the conduct of his wife.^ He 
is every where morally so, and this responsibility is a grave 
one ; the minister may, on this account, seriously suffer. How 
much may the irregularities and vices of the wife (her evil 
speaking, avarice, negligence, display, &c.) compromise the 
respectability of the pastor ! And inversely : Julian the apos- 
tate, observing that one of the causes of the success of the 
Gospel was the pure morals of its followers, and particu- 
larly of its ministers, sought to produce a concurrence with 
Christianity by requiring the pagan priests to maintain their 
wives, children, and domestics in the same purity of man- 
ners.! 

If the pastor, in his choice, should have respect to but one 
thing, would it not be the education of his children, which 
for the greater part, sometimes almost wholly, and especially 
in the most direct and most continuous manner, depends upon 
mothers ? The pastor can not at the same time train up 
his children and his parish ; so far from this, with the best 
intentions, he can not do for his children all that he would, 

* He is punished on her account if she dances, if she plays cards, 
&c. See Bridges, The Christian Ministry. 
f Bridges : The Christian Ministry, page 197. 



160 CHOICE OF A WIFE. 

and that another could do for them ; he must be able, in this 
matter, to depend upon his wife. Besides, how shall his fam- 
ily, under the influence of a mother who is not a Christian, 
present the aspect of a Christian family ? It is very hurtful 
to the authority of a pastor, when his wife is not seen to be 
his first proselyte, and, I add, his principal aid. 

In fact, the wife must take part in her husband's voca- 
tion, and in order to that, she must first partake of his con- 
victions and his sentiments. Without this (however good a 
wife she may be), she will be to him as an obstacle and as a 
scandal. And the more zealous he shall be, the more will 
the impossibility of finding aid, or, at least, interest in his wife, 
wound his heart and discourage him. 

But if she share his sentiments, he has an inexhaustible 
and ever-present consolation, a double power, and ordinarily 
an excellent counselor. It is impossible that a pious wife 
should not become to a pastor, in respect, especially, to his 
ministry, a "helpmeet for him." He will find in her a live- 
lier and more exquisite penetration, a surer, more prompt, 
and delicate tact, milder firmness, a more tranquil persever- 
ance.* 

She may render him valuable services among the poor, the 
sick, the schools, etc. She is the natural confessor of women. 
She is a counselor more readily heard than any other in cer- 
tain cases. She may aid her husband by information which 
she may furnish him. 

Here let us call to mind the memory of Aquila and Pris- 
cilla,f a married couple (of the laboring class), who wrought 
with St. Paul for Jesus Christ, and to whom all the gentile 
Churches were debtors (Rom., xvi., 3, 4) ; who took with 

* " He must find in her a monitor, in the best sense of the word — 
a co-worker, an inciter to good ; and if she is not so, she must become 
so, and this by his pains." — Harms, iii., 187. 

t See the discourse, entitled Aquilas et Priscille, in the Meditations 
Evangeliques of M. Vinet. — Edit. 



GOVERNMENT OF THE FAMILY. 161 

them Apollos, the eloquent disciple of John, and taught him 
more perfectly the way of God (Acts, xviii., 2, 3, 26) ; and 
whose two names are never separated by St. Paul. — 2 Tim., 
iv., 19; 1 Cor.,xvi., 19. 

The wife of a minister is necessarily an obstacle or an aid : 
There is no medium. Hence it is a law that he should have 
the ministry in his view in the choice of a wife. This, per- 
haps, is too rarely done. We engage ourselves before we are 
quite serious ; and if it be otherwise, passion carries us away, 
and we see what does not exist. 

As to the time of marriage — it is, perhaps, too much to wed 
at the same time a parish and a wife. Would it not be bet- 
ter not to bring too closely together these two acts, which, 
though not opposed to each other, are different ?* 

§ 2. Government of the Family. 

"A bishop must be one that ruleth well his own house, 
having his children in subjection with all gravity; for if a 
man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take 
care of the Church of God ?"— 1 Tim., in., 4, 5. 

It is scarcely natural that a minister should be devoted to 
his parish (jealous for it, with the jealousy of God), and be 
neglectful of his family ; and seldom will this happen. How 
can one be a bad father and a good pastor, the pastorate being 
but a more extended paternity 1 How can the principle of 
charity, which makes a good pastor, coexist with the absence 
of the principle of affection, which makes a good father ? 
How can that charity which concerns itself for strangers care 
nothing for those of its own household ? How shall not the 
pastor be first the pastor of his own family ? How can we 
imagine a zealous pastor who is an indifferent father, when 

* On the manner of entering into the state of marriage, see Wis- 
toire de Lavater, by Gessner, tome i., p. 303-305. The history of 
young Tobias is not more beautiful. 



162 GOVERNMENT OF THE FAMILY. 

it k said that "he who cares not for his own is worse than 
an infidel?"— 1 Tim., v., 8. 

We must nevertheless admit, strange as it may be, that 
one may have a kind of zeal for his parish, and not a propor- 
tional solicitude for his family ; may suffer himself to be ab- 
sorbed by the details of his office ; may, perhaps, like better 
this external activity than to take care of his household. 
There are many badly bred children in priestly families, and 
the fathers of these children are not always (far from it) bad 
pastors. 

It is a grave error to think that the parish should precede 
the family. The family is the first interest in respect to the 
pastor, as it is to every other man. If a pastor will not ad- 
mit this, he would be wiser not to marry. What the family 
gains by our cares is profitable also to the parish ; first, be- 
cause " the family," as Gluesnel says, " is a little diocese where 
he makes trials of episcopal and ecclesiastical zeal, piety, and 
prudence ;" next, because the parish gains from these domes- 
tic cares by the edifying example which hence results, and by 
the pastoral spirit spread over all the members of the family. 

It loses, in the same proportion, by our domestic negligence, 
even though for the sake of it we should sacrifice our chil- 
dren : first, because it is not natural that a true blessing 
should rest upon the cares of a pastor, who, having no care 
for his household, is worse than an infidel ; next, on account 
of scandal. Witness the example of the children of Eli. — 1 
Samuel, ii. In spite of Eli's wise and grave representations 
to his children (ii., 23, 25), we see, by the reproaches which 
they brought upon him (ii., 29), that, by his weakness, he 
was the cause of their deportment ; and already, in chapter 
first, we perceive that he was not a spirittml man.* 

We should guard against that united influence of the po- 
litical spirit of the times and of certain ideas of reform, on 

* Spiritual, it is to be presumed, is not to be understood here so as 
to imply that Eli was not, on the whole, a man of true piety.— Tr. 



HOUSE OF THE PASTOR. 163 

account of which children are apt to be brought up in a dif- 
ferent spirit from the submissive one of which the apostle 
speaks. 



§ 3 . House and Household Economy of the Pastor. 

A minister, in marrying, should know according to what 
general principles his house ought to be governed, and the 
wife whom he has married (the aid he has taken to himself) 
should learn them from him, if she has yet to learn them. 

Without disparaging an honorable liberty, it is necessary 
that the order of his house, and the habits of the external life 
of his family, should be subordinated to the interests of his 
ministry. This is not a yoke which he imposes upon his wife, 
but principles that she should voluntarily adopt in virtue of 
an interest which she shares with him. 

If there be not this concert, or if principles are observed 
only at the expense of the liberty of one of the parties, every 
thing will go wrong. 

This being assumed, we believe that the internal affairs 
(the affairs of the domestic establishment) ought to satisfy 
propriety in two ways : by order and neatness, if the pastor 
be poor ; by simplicity, if he be rich ; which, certainly, does 
not mean that order may be wanting in a rich house, or sim- 
plicity in a poor one ; still less, that one will have order sim- 
ply because he is rich, or simplicity merely because he is poor, 
without seeking it by other means. 

Order is the ornament, the attire, the luxury of poverty. 
Nothing is so sad as the appearance of riches, and preten- 
sions to elegance in a poor house. But, on the contrary, or- 
der in poverty shows a firm soul, a serious character, a peace- 
ful heart. Order and neatness among the poor are almost 
virtues, inspiring involuntary respect ; and their absence 
greatly injures the influence of a poor pastor. 

Simplicity is the only ornament which may properly at- 



164 HOUSE OF THE PASTOR. 

tach itself to wealth ; it is always in good taste, especially 
in a parsonage. The contrary presents too great a contrast 
with the functions of the pastor. But more than this : The 
parsonage is a second poor-house in the parish. None is so 
much visited by the unfortunate. It requires but very little 
to offend their notice. What a rich man, or even one in 
easy circumstances, scarcely honors with the name of com- 
fort, is for them luxury and show. If, at the house of a 
wealthy pastor, opulence may show itself, it must be only 
under a grave form, and there must be no appearance of 
fancy, of finery, or of sensuality. There is a luxury which 
addresses the senses, and another which addresses the mind 
and the imagination, and where matter is made subservient 
to thought.^ 

Entering much into society (I mean what are called as- 
semblies, soirees, dinner parties, etc.) offends poverty, by the 
leisure which it wastes and by the expenditure which it in- 
curs, or at least which it implies. The family of a pastor may 
have friends, whom they may see familiarly and frequently, 
but it is not proper that they should see the ivorld. The 
personal austerity of a pastor will not correct the impression 
which one will receive from worldliness in his wife and chil- 
dren. "We do not recommend the government of a cloister. 
Whatever abuse may be made of the proverb, " Youth must 
have its way," it is not without truth. But without wishing 
to force nature, and while authorizing a proper liberty, it is 
still necessary that the pastor should have a well-governed 
house, and dissipated life in his family would be a real 
scandal. 

We have elsewhere said that one of the prerogatives of a 
pastor is to belong to no particular class of society. f His 
wife and children must not deprive him of this prerogative, 
by courting the society of the gay world. 

* Contention between the seriousness of a husband and the vanity 
of his wife, in the Vicar of Wakefield. t Page 70. 



HOUSE OF THE PASTOR. 165 

More care should be taken in the choice of Domestics than 
i?i any other House. — They should be persons who not only 
may suit in respect of the services we exact from them, but 
persons of good character, and disposed to enter into the spirit 
of our house. 

Decency, dignity of manners in the interior, in language, 
in all respects, should be maintained. The way is to have 
self-respect. 

Peace. — The house of a pastor is a house of peace, not of 
contention and noise. 

Simplicity of the Table, Sobriety. — Let no suspicion of 
intemperance or sensuality attach itself to pastors. The 
world instinctively discerns in them the first appearances of 
those vices which are opposed to the virtues that should char- 
acterize them. 

Hospitality. — This is put by St. Paul (Titus, i., 8 ; 1 Tim., 
iii., 2) in the number of the virtues of a bishop. Hospitality 
had then an importance which it has not now. In addition 
to her general well-known circumstances of need, Christian- 
ity was a wayfarer ; zeal, persecution, agitated the Church ; 
and, moreover, the condition of a wayfarer, though rich, was 
not agreeable ; that of the poor was wretched. Christians 
are commended for having exercised hospitality, widows for 
having washed the saints' feet. — 1 Tim., v., 10. We may 
cite many examples of the performance of this duty in the 
primitive Church ; Aquila and Priscilla took Apollos into 
their house. — Acts, xviii., 2-13. 

If this precept be now of any general application, it is par- 
ticularly applicable to pastors. The more hospitality is neg- 
lected or avoided, the more should a pastor give an example 
of it, without, however, conniving in the least degree at that 
useless and pernicious abuse which is sometimes attempted 
to be made of it in the name of Christianity. For, decidedly, 
the form of it at least has changed. I should like to see a 
pastor exercise it toward the honorable poor of his parish with 



166 FAMILY WORSHIP. 

discretion and prudence. Beyond this, I see no more than 
a general duty, of which he should give an example to his 
flock as of other virtues, but not more than of other virtues. 

Family Worship. — It is useless to prove that the house 
of the pastor should be the example and model of this. It is 
not ordinarily to be enlarged in a manner which gives it the 
appearance of an extra-domestic worship. It should be dis- 
tinguished from meetings for edification which one may hold 
with his neighbors and parishioners under the roof of the par- 
sonage. The worship of the family should always preserve 
its own character. Family worship, properly conducted, may 
react with advantage upon public worship. 

The government of the temporal interests of the parsonage 
(household economy) is one of the things which shows the 
pastor the importance of choosing a proper person for his 
wife. For she has in this department the greatest influence ; 
and it is important that the pastoral mansion should be well 
governed ; that the order and the exactness which reign 
there should edify every one — should have a Christian char- 
acter, and this in small as well as in great things. Exact- 
ness, punctuality, if they be not virtues, may become so by 
the principle in which they are exercised ; and, in all cases, 
they are the condition of more than one virtue, and the ab- 
sence of them compromises many. In evil, as well as in 
good, the exterior reacts upon the interior. Negligence in- 
duces impatience, irritations, lawsuits, falsehood, injustice ; 
and further, by tempting others to deceive us, brings them 
into sin. It is not necessary, in order to appear good, that 
we should pass for dupes. Voluntary, free, intelligent good- 
ness is the true goodness ; and it is this, especially, which 
causes us to be loved. Why should we covet any other 1 It 
is needless to say that this exactness is consistent with liber- 
ality, that it has nothing in common with finesse. For the 
mistress of a parsonage, we should desire the reputation of 
an orderly woman, but not celebrity for industry and man- 



PASTORAL ECONOMY. 167 

agement. To be overwise does not suit her, and I would 
that her ideal should be composed of the image of the wise 
woman of the Proverbs (xxxi., 10-31), and of that of the 
Christian widows of whom St. Paul speaks to Timothy, or 
of the character of Martha tempered by that of Mary. She 
should also know, and her husband, in choosing her, should 
have been well assured that she did know, that there is not 
only more of happiness (Acts, xx., 35), but more of dignity 
and more of prudence, in giving than in receiving. 



PART THIRD. 

PASTORAL LIFE. 



■Preliminary Reflections on the Choice of a Parish, and on 
Changes. 

A pastor's functions, in his relation to his parish as a 
whole, are those which pertain to 'public ivorship anal in- 
struction ; in his relation to families and individuals, they are 
embraced in the care of souls. He sustains relations, also, 
to the universal Church, but chiefly, as a Christian ; noth- 
ing, so far as these are concerned, being specially proper to a 
pastor. 

Before examining separately each of these branches of his 
work, let us consider the work as a whole, and regard the 
minister at the moment when he is about to put himself at 
the head of a parish. I do not at present distinguish the work 
of the suffragan from that of the pastor : I shall speak of the 
suffragan hereafter. 

As there is a call to the ministry in general, there is one 
also to this or that particular ministry. We will endeavor 
to give some rules. The first rule is not to have solely or 
chiefly in view, in this determination, our own convenience 
or personal advantages ; but the measure of our strength, the 
nature of our talent, the circumstances of the parish, the need 
it has of us rather than of some other, or of some other rather 
than of us. After settling this question, but not till then, we 
may consult also our own convenience, our own particular 

H 



170 CHOICE OF A PARISH. 

interest. I will not say that the difficulties and dangers 
which one may foresee will be decisive as to the question of 
his call ; but that at least, when there is doubt on this point, 
this consideration will, in very many cases, remove it, and 
that, in general, we ought less to shrink from a post which 
promises us difficulties than one which exempts us from 
them. 

The second rule, after dismissing interest, is also to dis- 
miss all those considerations which are not drawn from the 
nature of things, the interest of the kingdom of God, and 
the direct or indirect teachings of the Divine word. In this 
matter, as in many others, superstition, indolence of mind and 
of conscience, arbitrary maxims, have played a large part. 
We prefer consulting these advisers rather than God. con- 
science, and reason. 

Many have thought it best, and have counseled others, to 
remain passive. That we may not decide wrong, say they, 
let us not decide at all ; let us take what is offered to us. It 
is not strange that a man, especially a Christian, should, in 
such a matter, fear to decide for himself. There is not one 
of his steps which is not invisibly connected with a long se- 
ries of consequences impossible to be foreseen, and often as 
serious in themselves as their cause is inconsiderable. The 
Christian knows better than any other how apt he is to de- 
ceive himself. He knows that "the way of man is not in 
himself." — Jer.,x.,23. Bengel, on this subject, says, "The 
less of himself an instrument puts into an action, and the 
more he leaves God himself to act, the purer and more com- 
plete is the action. " # It is, indeed, useful to set one's self 
aside ; it is dangerous to have to make use of one's own will 
when considerations of interest are complicated with those 
of duty : But we must take care that we do not sacrifice to 
mental indolence while we think to sacrifice to humility. It 
is also true that when we are important enough to engage 
* Bengel's Leben von Burk, p. 145. 



CHOICE OF A PARISH. • 171 

attention, and when institutions allow men to anticipate 
movement on our part, it is a great privilege to be called 
without having first presented ourselves ; and in every case 
it is better not to move than to act without full conviction ; 
conviction which, in questions of this kind, it is not easy to 
obtain. In ecclesiastical constitutions passivity is not possi- 
ble. Even where it is possible, I do not think that, except 
in very particular cases, we should remain passive. Passivi- 
ty in the Christian life is the exception, and not the rule. 

Jesus Christ would raise Christian obedience to the high- 
est degree of spontaneity, and would invest with the greatest 
power the element of individuality, which, in the old economy, 
was compressed. It is only when the exercise of liberty is 
impossible that we are permitted to wait ; and even in this 
voluntary submission the Christian has liberty. This prin- 
ciple, which, until the sixteenth century, lay in oblivion, 
makes Protestantism a very serious matter ; and if we should 
rejoice in this restoration of the Gospel, and with it that of 
personal liberty and responsibility, we should do so with 
trembling. But if the impossibility of foreseeing and calcu- 
lating the consequences of each action should restrain us from 
action, it is evident that we should never act. 

That, then, which is required is not passivity, but to purify 
our motive by prayer ; not to act without full conviction 
(Rom., xiv., 23) ; not to substitute our will for that of others, 
or of God, by forcibly turning aside the natural course of 
things ; finally, not to employ intrigue and simony in order 
to obtain a desirable post. There are here very subtile 
points, as to which, however, an upright conscience will not 
be misled. It is seldom necessary, and it is not possible, to 
indicate their different forms.* With us, the former law shut 
every avenue to simony in making promotion depend upon 
age ; the new law has not much opened the door. There is 

* Bengel held the purity of vocation in such high regard that he 
excludes all those who are influenced by the wishes of near relations. 



172 CHOICE OF A PARISH. 

in this a compensation for the inconvenience of our not being 
able to make capacity the standard of employment, or the 
need of each parish the determining consideration in provid- 
ing for it. 

But, after all this reservation, we may adopt the formula 
of Harms : " When, in my own judgment, and in the judg- 
ment of competent persons, I have the qualifications requisite 
for a place, and when I feel myself able, with God's assist- 
ance, to fulfill its duties, I may then openly offer my services, 
and, in order to obtain the place, make use of all legitimate 
and honest means.* 

The principle of passivity seems to have prevailed in the 
first ages of the Church. Not only do we there find forced 
ordinations, but also calls to such or such a post accepted 
without saying a word ; it was even a virtue not to make 
inquiry. This is intelligible enough ; the contrary would not 
have been once thought of. The circumstances are no lon- 
ger the same. Remark, nevertheless, that on a change of cir- 
cumstances the principle may reappear ; it has reappeared, 
although with restrictions, in the work of missions, so like, 
that of the first propagation of Christianity. In every work 
where heroism is necessary, obedience is necessary also ; the 
first thing to be broken down is the will, at every point in 
which there is the most of sensibility and delicacy. 

The question may be asked : When there is a direct call 
on the part of our natural superiors, without our having in 
any way contributed to it, should we always obey ? No ; even 
in this case we may refuse, though not without strong reasons. 
Here the j ust presumption is in favor of acceptance ; we must, 
then, seriously examine, and not refuse, except under full evi- 
dence that we are bound to do so. We can not, however, 
admit the opinion expressed by Dr. Schleussner : " My dear 
Professor Polycarp Leyser strongly recommended me," says 
he, " to refuse no regular call ; for, said he, God punishes 
* Pastoraltheologie, in., 217. 



CHOICE OF A PARISH. 173 

those who allow themselves to do so, either by withdrawing 
them from this world before the end of the year, or causing 
them to lose their gifts, or permitting them to fall into some 
snare."* 

The third rule is to be certain of the disposition of the par- 
ish in this matter, and not to impose ourselves on it against 
its will. A conscientious and delicate minister, on his own 
account, would secure to the parish a participation in the 
choice of a pastor. If he is not precisely desired, he must at 
least be welcome. This is said in general, and not with- 
out exception. For if we think that if we are excluded, the 
parish will be ill provided for, and if there is reason for be- 
lieving that our presence will easily and promptly dissipate 
prejudices which may have spread abroad concerning us, it 
is, perhaps, our duty to proceed. 

The fourth rule is not to exchange lightly one place for 
another. "When one is doing well, when he is blessed in the 
position which he occupies, when he is sufficient for it, a 
great point is gained. - "We must not too easily yield to the 
thought that we might more profitably use all our faculties 
and do more good somewhere else. We must not too easily 
abandon a place to which we are suited. The reason should 
be a very strong one which forces us from it : The necessity, 
the danger of another parish : " Come over to Macedonia 
and help us !" — Acts, xvi., 9. We must have heard this cry 
before venturing to remove. 

Sometimes, also, after having passed a certain time in a 
place where we have done and are yet doing good, we may 
remember that where Paul had planted it was necessary that 
Apollos should water ; we may be less suited to the work in 
the sequel than we were at its beginning. Our part, so to 
speak, may have been performed ; we may no longer increase ; 
the work, in order to advance, must pass into other hands. 
Still, I think that a true Christian develops himself with 
* Burk, Pastoraltheologie in Bcispiclen, tome i., p. 98. 



174 PASTORAL DISPOSITIONS. 

his work and by his work ; and that to the new demands to 
which he has given rise, he answers by new developments 
of his interior life : If it be thus, there can be nothing bet- 
ter for the parish than that the pastor should remain ; as 
Thomas Adam did at Wintringham, which was his first 
and his last parish, and where he passed fifty years. In 
the Wesleyan Church, a pastor remains only three years at 
the head of the same parish, so as to prevent his peculiar tend- 
encies from becoming deeply rooted in their too affectionate 
hearts. 

These great phases of our life ought to be solemnized : 
such a day as that in which we take the charge of a parish 
ought not to pass as ordinary days. It is a sort of vigil kept 
previous to commencing knighthood, in which we solicit on 
our knees the panoply — the complete armor — of a servant of 
Jesus Christ ; in which we put on the whole armor of God, 
as St. Paul recommends in the epistle to the Ephesians (vi., 
11-17). 

We should also, from respect for the parish, be careful as 
to our first appearance after entrance. Our first sermon 
should be carefully studied ; it should embrace our whole 
mind, and, if possible, our whole personality, announcing us 
with modesty and frankness. Nevertheless, we must not 
speak of ourselves more than is necessary. 

We ought, together with this, to take distinct note of the 
pastoral dispositions, and to make trial of them as one does 
of a garment which he is to clothe himself with, and no more 
to lay aside. What are these ? 

1. The spirit of humility, which does not consist in dis- 
paraging what we have, but in wishing to be nothing in our- 
selves ; in esteeming others better than ourselves ; in know- 
ing how to accept injustice, and suffering ourselves to be 
counted as nothing. The more a pastor reduces himself 
for the sake of magnifying God, the more has he of author- 
ity. The more we are emptied of ourselves, the more shall 



PASTORAL DISPOSITIONS. 175 

we perceive, in this emptiness, the grandeur of our minis- 
try.* 

2. The spirit of modesty and of moderation. He must 
prepare himself in an extraordinary manner, and still choose 
ordinary paths ; not project great things outwardly ; not de- 
spise the day of small things ; walk with the humble ; avoid 
the spirit of an innovator ; place his feet as much as possible 
in paths already made, according to this word of Moses : 
" Ask now of the days which are past, which are before thee" 
(Deut., ii., 32) ; and that of Jeremiah : " Stand ye in the 
ways and see, and ask for the old paths" (vi., 16). This 
does not mean, Confine yourselves to the past ; perfect noth- 
ing, correct nothing, begin nothing ; it only imports, Do not 
lightly reject traditions ; forsake not, without reason, that 
which is established ; let there be a legitimate presumption 
in favor of that which is ; make constancy the rule, and 
change the exception. 

3. The spirit of 'ivar, and the spirit of peace. The spirit 
of war is essential to the ministry and to the profession of 
Christianity. Like Christ, we come to kindle a fire, and we 
should even restrain ourselves until it be kindled ; we bring 
a sword, and not peace ; we throw into the mass a burn- 
ing leaven. The exterior may deceive us ; but the exteri- 
or ought not to determine our judgment or our stand- point. 
Even as to that peace, and those guarantees which are incor- 
porated in the civil institution and rooted in the soil, we should 
act as if there were nothing of these ; for all these may be 
nothing ; all these, perhaps, will be no more to-morrow, for 
us at least. Notwithstanding appearances, Christianity, in 
its vital and characteristic elements, is always a stranger and 
an intruder. We must gird up our loins, for this peace is only 

* See Port Royal, par M. Sainte-Beuve, tome i., p. 464, on the re- 
markable authority of M. Singlin, Director of Consciences in this in- 
stitution. His humility was the source of this authority ; for he cast 
nimself on God alone. 



176 PASTORAL DISPOSITIONS. 

a respite, u truce ; we must draw the bow for a mark much 
further removed than that which seems to be presented to us. 
" He teach eth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight." 
— Psalm cxliv., 1. Thus the spirit of strife is necessary, but 
also the spirit of peace. The pastor should not approach his 
parishioners as if they were adversaries ; he should treat no 
one as an adversary before he is proved to be such : He 
should regard his flock as a flock — a family ; and in every re- 
spect he should proceed upon the principle of benevolence. 
From the first, let the pastor regard himself as beloved. 
Nothing more falsifies our position than putting ourselves on 
the defensive. Those who hate us, or would attack us, will 
perhaps be disarmed by our confidence, our benevolence, our 
candor. 

4. The spirit of devotedness to the parish, for which, 
in mass and in detail, we should be ready to surrender life, 
as in certain difficult circumstances, epidemics, war, etc. 
" It is in our hearts to die and live with you." — 2 Cor., vii., 
3. It is better to renounce the ministry than to neglect any 
thing pertaining to it. 

Let us pass in review certain general duties of the pastor 
after entering on his functions. First, that of residence. 

The law, with us, has in great part provided for this, by 
requiring the pastor to live in his parish ; but this does not 
forbid frequent and prolonged absences. We must be care- 
ful as to these. There are some pastors who prefer to be 
every where rather than at home. We must avoid even oc- 
casions of religious wandering. 

2. Regularity in Functions, and Earnestness in fulfill- 
ing them. — We must avoid the bad taste of those pastors 
who lament or trifle over the number and the weight of their 
functions, and stun the ears of the world with them : We 
must not allow ourselves in delays, which, in certain cases, 
may have most pernicious consequences. To success and 



PASTORAL DISPOSITIONS. 177 

prosperity in the ministry we may apply these words :"A 
little more sleep, a little more slumber, a little more folding 
of the hands to sleep ; so shall thy poverty come as one that 
traveleth, and thy want as an armed man." — Prov., vi., 10, 
11. 

The minister should be constantly absorbed in his ministry. 
" Think on these things" (the duties of the ministry), says 
Paul to Timothy, " and give thyself wholly to them." — 1 
Tim., iv., 15. It would be deplorable to have a predomin- 
ant taste apart xfrom the ministry, so that this should occupy 
only the second place. That minister is in a sad position 
whose ministry is not his life. If one gives himself entirely 
to a ministry only when he loves it, he will love it only when 
he gives himself entirely to it. Nothing so attaches a min- 
ister to his flock, and vice versa, as the sacrifices which he 
makes for it. 

In order to give himself entirely to the ministry, he must 
simplify his life, avoid whatever would draw him from duty, 
whatever will not contribute to the success of his work, all 
the cares of the world,* even the cares which may consist 
with the ministry, but which are not an essential part of it, 
and which we may with propriety transfer to others. — Acts, 
vi., 2. 

* " Take no thought, saying, What shall we eat, what shall we 
drink," etc. — Matt., vi., 31, 32. " Take heed to yourselves, lest your 
hearts be overcharged with cares of this life." — Luke, xxi., 34. 
H 2 



SECTION FIRST. 

WORSHIP. 



In a practical and local point of view, we here have little 
to say ; but we should not restrict ourselves to this point of 
view. Wherever duty and the form of duty are traced, it is 
useful to ascend to principle, and thus to become penetrated 
with the true spirit of duty, the spirit which is to be found 
in principle, and not lower. 

Worship is the more immediate expression, the purely re- 
ligious form of religion. It is the internal or external act of 
adoration — adoration in act. Now adoration is nothing else 
than the direct and solemn acknowledgment of the divinity 
of God, and of our obligations toward him. 

Public worship, otherwise called service, or divine office, 
comprehends, according to the ordinary idea, whatever is 
performed during the time in which an assembly remains to- 
gether in the name of God and for the cause of God. 

According to this idea, then, worship includes also exhort- 
ation, or instruction, or exposition of the word of God. This, 
however, is framed into worship, rather than an integrant 
part of it. It is only when we generalize the idea of wor- 
ship, and make it to include whatever has God for its ob- 
ject, whatever our intention refers to God, that we may call 
preaching, or instruction in religious truths, worship. It is 
so neither more nor less than any other good work. " Adora- 
tion," according to Klopstock, as cited by Harms, " is the es- 
sence of public worship. Instruction and exhortation^ by the 
* Die unterrichten.de Ermahnung. 



WORSHIP. 179 

preacher, notwithstanding their great utility, are not equally 
essential elements." We add to this, that in a religious sys- 
tem where there is no longer a priest, where one man is not 
a symbolic mediator between God and mankind, the minis- 
ter* is rather the director of worship than exclusively the 
agent of it : The people, regarding worship in our point of 
view, may be active in it, and in a certain degree, perhaps, 
ought to be.f It is remarkable that in our worship passivity 
predominates, while activity distinguishes the Catholic ! 

Worship consists in zvords, or in silent rites; more fre- 
quently, however, in their combination. 

We can not well represent to ourselves a silent worship. 
Again, we can hardly conceive of a worship entirely inward 
without rites, without symbols. It is important to give a 
body to the fundamental sentiments and ideas of religion. Life 
can not dispense with symbols any more than language with 
metaphors. Rite is a metaphor in action. Worship is an 
action, so the Germans call it. Action is nearer to life, more 
resembles life, than word. " Segnius irritant animos de- 
missa per aurem" etc 4 Worship, certainly, may be an action 
without a rite, and even without words ; but when we would 
move others, and be moved ourselves, we need sometimes more 
than this internal silence. 

Comparing the word with the rite, how is the former to be 
characterized ? 

The word is successive : The act of worship presents si- 
multaneously many ideas or many relations. The word 

* " Ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake." — 2 Cor., iv., 5. 

t " Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that 
occupieth the room of the unlearned, say Amen at thy giving of 
thanks'? seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest." — 1 Cor., 
xiv., 16 v 

% "What is addressed to the ear affects less readily the soul." — 
Horace: Art of Poetry, v. 180. — Edit. 



180 WORSHIP. 

analyzes, it divides ; the silent rite concentrates. The whole 
Gospel has been concentrated in the memorial of the Lord's 
Supper, as in a focus. A rite expresses only what is essen- 
tial, but it does this with a force which the word has not. 

Worship consisting of rites and words is more distinct than 
contemplation, less than discourse. Contemplation is a syn- 
thesis, discourse an analysis ; worship which partakes of con- 
templation and the word, unites synthesis and analysis, and 
can not, without mutilation, exclude either of these. As a 
whole, it aspires to elevate harmoniously all the faculties of 
our being to the sphere of truth (which truth is not a form- 
ula, but the substance of one). There is something of music 
in it ; it has the character of song, which also is essential to 
it ; for adoration is a state of the soul which only song can 
express. Worship is the assemblage of all the elements of 
our being in an act of pure religion. I do not exclude words 
from worship ; but I would have them symbolic, sacrament- 
al, like the rest of it. Words at the same time human and 
stereotyped do not seem to me to realize the ideal of a Liturgy. 
If human words must intermingle with it, I would rather 
have them free and individual. In some Reformed Churches, 
the prayer which immediately precedes the discourse is made 
by the pastor, and remains his own, whether he uses always 
the same one, or varies it with circumstances. 

The Romish worship has erred in giving too much to rite, 
and, through rite, too much to traditions ; but its Liturgy, at 
least, does not dogmatize ; it has the spirit of song, and there- 
in it is good ; and then the form of worship, with all the rest, 
is with them an affair of faith and of dogma. 

As for us, our worship is too much a confession of faith — a 
discourse ; every thing is articulate, every thing is precise, 
every thing explains itself. The effect of this tendency has 
gone so far as to determine the idea we have formed. of tem- 
ples. We regard temples as places for hearing. We go to 
them to hear some one speak. But is it only because of the 



WORSHIP. 181 

doctrine of the real presence that the Catholic temples should 
be regarded as true temples ?* Would the character of the 
Catholic worship be destroyed if the theurgic element should 
be separated from it ? Can not worship have its proper ef- 
fect unless it be regarded as a miracle ? "What is the rem- 
edy of our defect ? As an excess can hardly be corrected 
except by another- excess, we say that our Liturgy is wanting 
in what would be a fault except in a Liturgy ; that is, more 
of vagueness, a flowing of religious ideas into one another ; 
which might take place without, on that account, making 
the ideas less fit to express Christian faith and life. Preach- 
ing is an addition to worship, but is not worship. Harms,! 
with reason, recommends houses of worship without preach- 
ing. This would not tend to lower preaching, but to elevate 
worship. 

As far as I can judge of the worship of the primitive 
Church, it must have held a medium between these two ex- 
tremes. We see in it nothing of the anxious precision of a 
confession of faith, nothing of the profusion of rites of the 
Romish Church. 

Jesus Christ and his apostles seem to have been less con- 
cerned in establishing a new worship than in abolishing the 
old, or, at least, in destroying the error relating to the intrin- 
sic value of that "bodily exercise which profiteth little." — 
1 Tim., iv., 8. They directly abolished — they only indirect- 
ly and silently instituted. Things were rather born than es- 
tablished. Doctrine only was established ; and that, also, 
after the same manner : it is born in the soul. 

See John, iv., 23, 24 (worship in spirit and in truth), and 
the whole epistle to the Hebrews, which seems to identify 
religion and worship ; and Col., ii., 16 : " Let no man judge 
you in meat or in drink, or in respect of a holy day, or of the 
new moon, or of the Sabbath day ;" and Rom., xiv., 17 : " The 

* Temples, from to contemplate. 
f Tome ii., page 123. 



182 LORD'S DAY ASSEMBLIES. 

kingdom of God is not in meat and drink, but in righteous- 
ness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." 

Preaching has its place under the Gospel, but it does not 
suffocate worship. Our word is a prism which decomposes 
the light ; but this decomposition should only be a transition. 

Here, moreover, are all the ritual elements of the New 
Testament : 

The Lord's Day. — The primitive Church had a sacred 
day, that of the Savior's resurrection. The Sabbath is abol- 
ished,* but Sunday is sacred. It was not added to Christian- 
ity, it was born of it. God blessed the seventh day, and sanc- 
tified it : That was to bless his work, to crown it. Sunday is 
a summary of Christianity, gives it a moment in time, as a 
temple gives it a place in space. Internal necessity is the true 
law, the best authority for Sunday ; it speaks more strongly 
within us than a written ordinance. This necessity determ- 
ines the mode of observing Sunday. Nothing binds as much 
as Christian liberty and conscience : this has consecrated a 
day, it ought then to be holy. 

Assemblies. — Hebrews, x., 25 : " Neglect not the assem- 
bling of yourselves together, as the manner of some is." 

1 Cor., xiv., 26 : " What is it then, my brethren ? when 
ye come together, every one hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, 
hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things 
be done to edification." 

Verse 40 : " Let all things be done decently and in order." 

James, ii., 1-3 (Poor and rich). 

1 Cor., xi., 4, 5 : " Every man who prays or prophesies, 
having his head covered, dishonors his head ; but every wom- 
an who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered, dishon- 
ors her head ; for that is the same as if she were shorn." 

1 Cor., xi., passim (on the way of employing time in these 
assemblies). 

* Has the Sabbath been abolished 1 See Appendix, note H, by the 
Translator. 



PASSOVER SINGING BAPTISM UNCTION. 1 83 

Passover. — Matt., xxvi. ; Luke, xxii. 

1 Cor., v., 7, 8 : " Christ our passover is sacrificed for us. 
Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old leaven of 
malice and of wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of 
sincerity and truth." 

1 Cor., xi., 23-29 (rules for the celebration of the Lord's 
Supper). 

Singing. — Mark, xiv., 26: "When they had sung an 
hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives." 

Eph., v., 19 : "Speaking to one another in psalms, and 
hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in 
your heart to the Lord." 

Rites ivhich do not appear to have made a part of ordi- 
nary Worship. 

Baptism. — John, iii., 22 : " Jesus went then with his dis- 
ciples into the land of Judea ; and there he tarried with, 
them, and baptized." 

Acts, viii., 36-38 (Eunuch of Q,ueen Candace). 

Acts, ii., 44 : " Those who received the word joyfully were 
baptized." 

Acts, x., 47, 48 : Peter said, "Can any man forbid water, 
that these should not be baptized, who have received the 
Holy Ghost as well as we ? And he commanded them to 
be baptized in the name of the Lord." 

Acts, xvi., 33 : " The (jailor) washed their stripes (of Paul 
and Silas) and was baptized, he and his household." 

Unction. — James, v., 14 : "Is any sick among you ? let 
him call for the pastors of the Church, and let them pray for 
him, anointing them with oil, in the name of the Lord." 
Compare Mark, vi., 13. 

Impositio?i of Hands. — Acts, xiv., 23 : " And when they 
had ordained them elders in every Church (by imposition of 
hands), and had prayed with fasting, they commended them 
to the Lord." 



184 IMPOSITION OF HANDS LITURGY. 

2 Cor., viii., 19 : "He (Titus) was chosen (with imposi- 
tion of hands) of the Churches to travel with us." 

2 Tim., i., 6 : " Stir up the gift of God which is in thee, 
and which you have received by the putting on of my hands." 

1 Tim., iv., 14 : " Neglect not the gift which is in thee, 
which was given to thee by prophecy, with the laying on of 
the hands of the Presbytery." 

The imposition of hands was then more than a symbol : it 
was an act to which a supernatural efficacy was attached. 

It is in all this to be remarked that we see more a com- 
munity than its head : "We do not see in these assemblies that 
one man was all, and did all. 

Laying aside now all discussion and all parallels, and 
placing ourselves on the Protestant stand-point, let us char- 
acterize appropriately the worship which is in spirit and in 
truth. A Liturgy should, 

1 . Express religion, the whole of religion ; give a summary, 
not an abridgment of it. An abridgment divides, a summary 
combines and incorporates the different elements of an idea 
or a fact. In one sense, religion has no parts, can not be 
divided. Every hour of worship should present an entire 
Christ to the soul of the believer. 

2. Express it in a form the most suitable to all, in symbols 
and words. Every thing should be quickly comprehended 
and vividly seized. In respect to symbols, Christ has given 
us a model, in the simplicity of baptism and the Lord's Supper. 
To attain this end, we need, more than all things, a biblical 
worship. 

3. Have a character the most appropriate to awaken and 
elevate the soul, not to distract and amuse it : little ceremony, 
but significant and simple. Our Liturgy would be improved 
if it had certain characteristics which belong to the worship 
of other Churches. The Litany, for example, may seem ridic- 
ulous ; but, in truth, there is something in it which represents 
the normal state of a soul which recollects itself in the Divine 



COSTUME. 185 

presence. The Christian should be a child, and consequently 
should speak the language of a child. The simpler, the more 
child-like the means, the better are they. The Litany is 
something child-like : This is its excellence, its truth. Every 
Liturgy should be somewhat lyrical. 

4. Be adapted, as to its extent, to the capacity of the great- 
est number, be adjusted to the nature of worship in general, 
which is admiration, and raising the soul above itself to an 
unaccustomed height. As soon as this just measure is trans- 
cended, fatigue begins. 

The element of antiquity, which gives gravity even to a 
Liturgy composed of sacred elements, does this yet more to 
a Liturgy essentially of human composition. It should not, 
therefore, be retouched by the Church, except at long inter- 
vals and with great care ; and these intervals should be pro- 
longed the more if the Liturgy was conceived as a true Lit- 
urgy, and not as a dogmatic treatise. It ought certainly to 
express the faith of the Church, but, if I may so say, in a 
contemplative state. Much more should a preacher abstain, 
except from real necessity (such as public events, calamities, 
&c), from making changes on his own authority. A minis- 
ter is bound to the Liturgy, which is not his own, which, in- 
deed, is the voice of the flock, and to which he does but lend 
his individual voice.* 

We should not desire, we should fear, to see the people con- 
fined to forms which have lost their sense ; still, it is useful 
that there should remain in worship something fixed and im- 
mutable. The people, to a certain extent, should be kirchlich,\ 
that is to say, attached to the forms of their worship : There 
seems to be no necessity that this should lead to formalism. f 

Costume. — Harms gives a singular explanation of cos- 

* See Appendix, note I, On Liturgies, by the Translator. 

t A German adjective, formed from the word Kirche, eglisc, to 
which the derivation ecclesiastique, according to French usage, does 
not correspond. — Edit. t " Wine congealed on the lees." 



186 RITES. 

tume, as being, according to his idea, intended to conceal 
either the too great advantages or the too great imperfections 
of the person. Our idea of costume is, that it is to efface (to 
cover) the individual and the man of the times. In propor- 
tion as the spirituality of the flock increases, costume becomes 
less necessary ; it may even become disagreeable. Iil this 
matter, I think we ought to follow the rules of the Church 
to which we prefer to belong, and to follow them freely. 

Celebration of Rites. — The minister should be on his 
guard against performing certain rites, such as baptism and 
marriage, in a too perfunctory and familiar manner. That 
which to us is a daily occurrence, is often a solemn one to an- 
other. All this is more impressive in other Liturgies than in 
ours, which, in this particular, is poor. The more defective 
are the text and the form of the Liturgy, the more of his own 
spirit must the minister put into them, to give accent and 
rhythm to all things, to animate all rites by an internal life 
corresponding to them. # Bengelf recommends in these cases 
great exactness, as the hearers readily reason from variable- 
ness in these external acts to variableness in doctrines. This 
care is not inconsistent with liberty and familiarity. Some, 
from aversion to an affected or formal gravity, have on 
their part affected an indecent familiarity. They would not 
have God harangued as an earthly king, and so they under- 
take to talk with him. Prayer is the medium. It should 
be presented. 

" Avec la liberte d'un fils devant son pere, 
Et le saint tremblement d'un pecheur devant Dieu."t 

Reception of Catechumens. — The statutes allow of re- 
ceiving them privately, provided it be done in the presence 
of the pastor's colleagues, if he have any, and of the assess- 
ors of the consistory. 

* " Enliven these solemnities," says Bossuet. 

t Bengel's Leben, by Burk. Stuttgard, 1831, p. 112, $ 30. 

t Cantique de A. M. Adolphe Monod, No. 102, des Chants Chretiens. 



the lord's supper. 187 

The Lord's Supper. — I take our Church as it is, one with 
the state, except as each one's individual will may distinguish 
him. Discipline here reduces itself, even in respect to scan- 
dalous sinners, to a general admonition given from the pulpit, 
and to a private admonition to be administered to those who 
are known to him, and whom he expects to see at the table. 

The new law says nothing as to form. The former ordi- 
nances require the pastors, on presenting the bread and wine, 
to use " the words of our Lord" — the words, doubtless, used 
at the institution of the supper. The ordinances add that 
all the communicants, without distinction, shall receive the 
bread and the wine " after the same manner," that is to say, 
I suppose, with the same words. Our actual usage is not 
conformed to this rule, which appears to us a very good one. 
It is more inconvenient to address a separate passage to each 
person. The repetition of the sacramental word is serious, 
imposing, and this word does not lose its force. 

It is allowable, and perfectly regular, to give the supper to 
the sick in their own houses ; but this should be done with 
solemnity, and so that it may be a communion, that is to 
say, not only should there be assistants, but persons who par- 
take of4;he supper with the sick. 

As to baptism, without maintaining that we should abso- 
lutely refuse to administer it in the house of the parents, I 
think we should countenance this as little as possible, were 
it only to preserve the flock from an error too prevalent on 
the subject of baptism.^ 

The pastor should see that every thing in the church be 
decent, that every thing proceed in proper order, from the 
entrance to the departure, and during the exercises. He 
would do well to prevent the plate from being handed round. 
The sound is not suitable, and may oblige some to give, 
which is wrong, and contrary to liberty. It would be bet- 
ter to place a box at each door. It matters not if the col- 
* See Acts of the Synod of Berne, c. xxi., p. 40 and 43. 



188 SINGING FUNERALS. 

lection be smaller, as probably it will be, " provided there be 
a willing mind." — 2 Cor., viii., 12. Moreover, St. Paul says, 
" that your bounty may be ready, as a matter of bounty (a 
free gift), and not as of covetousness." — 2 Cor., ix., 5. " God 
loves a cheerful giver." — 2 Cor., ix., 7. 

Singing is more essential to worship than is commonly 
supposed. It is a language which God has given to man to 
express thoughts which ordinary language can not express. 
Besides what we have said of it (in affirming that worship, 
as a whole, should have the character of music), it is an ex- 
ercise in which the community unite, which gives believers 
an active part in worship, and in which their liberty is more 
complete. 

The matter of singing, in general, is prescribed to us ; but 
we ought to use the liberty which the law gives us in the 
choice of a song. 

We may sing too much or too little ; we should sing little 
and more often, three times, perhaps. It would be well to 
introduce singing immediately after the discourse rather than 
after the prayer which follows it. This gives repose to the 
pastor and the hearers, and aids self-possession. 

Funerals are the only part of worship which has jAace out 
of the confines of the temple, as the supper and baptism, with 
exceptions, are celebrated only within them. It is not to be 
admitted that religion should be visibly absent at funerals ; 
this would be to be less pious than pagans. Now it is the 
pastor who renders religion visible ; and, seeing the progress 
which mind has made, if the pastor be here wanting, some one 
will take his place, and make his absence more manifest, to 
the great disadvantage of his character. I would have the 
minister never absent, either from the house of death or from 
the cemetery. In many houses the pastor offers a prayer 
before going out ; but this will not suffice ; he ought to at- 
tend the burial, and there should be another service either 
at the open tomb or in the church. Some words from the 
Bible, and a prayer besides, are in all cases sufficient. 



SECTION SECOND. 

INSTRUCTION. 
CHAPTER I. 

PREACHING. 

§ 1 . Importance of Preaching among the Functions of the 
Ministry. 

What is preaching ? It is the explication of the word of 
God, the exposition of Christian truths, and the application 
of those truths to our flock ; all this, in the presence of our 
assembled flock — I might say, in public ; since the Church, 
in the view of the multitude or mass, is regarded as a great 
school, open to every comer. 

We have first spoken of worship, and then of preaching as 
included in worship, and to be considered as making a part 
of worship, although worship speaks to God, and preaching 
speaks of him ; but it is only in elevating his soul to God 
that one speaks worthily of him ; preaching which is not of 
the nature of worship is not true preaching. Things which, 
in a lower region, are separated, in a higher one are reunited 
and blended. * 

But let us leave this, and see what place God himself has 
given to preaching in Christianity. It is a place greater 
than preaching has in any other religion, greater than it had 
even in the Jewish religion. Christianity is a religion made 

* On the relative importance of preaching in the pastoral office, 
see Harms. 



190 PREACHING. 

for thought, and, consequently, for speech ; it represents it- 
self, it substantively manifests itself by speech, it propagates 
itself by speech. The Gospel is a word. Christ himself is 
the Word, or the Reason. The term is of no importance ; 
for the word is reason expressed, and the reason is the inte- 
rior word. The Church itself is truth thought in common, 
spoken in common. In insisting, a while ago, on synthesis 
in worship, we did not condemn speech ; religion, it is true, 
appears in a complex state in worship, in the soul and in the 
life ; but there is no just sentiment, no strong affection, which 
does not connect itself with a distinct idea, of which the rea- 
son can not give account, or which is not founded on a rela- 
tion, the terms of which are well known and well apprecia- 
ted ; and this characteristic should, above all, belong to the 
true religion, nay, to this religion alone. This alone can 
say, I know in whom I have believed. In a word, it is a 
religion of faith or of persuasion, consequently a religion 
which employs speech. 

Hence arises the importance of preaching. Our preach- 
ing, it is true, is second hand, a preaching on a preaching, 
a word on a word ; but this matters not, preaching is neces- 
sary ; for this are we sent ; worship, simply, might be cele- 
brated by any Christian whatever ; for this no call is neces- 
sary ; it is sufficient if the person has no reason to doubt the 
conformity of his faith with this act. If we should interro- 
gate ourselves as to a call, if it is necessary we should be 
called, it is as stewards of the mysteries of God, as heralds 
or messengers of justice, as preachers. 

To speak the truth, the whole ministry is preaching. In- 
stead of saying that preaching makes a part of worship, we 
might say that worship makes a part of preaching, that rite is 
a form of instruction. What we here present, then, as a spe- 
cies, is, in a certain sense, a genus ; but still we may so pre- 
sent it, since the word preaching, in common language, means 
a part, and not the whole, of the exercise of the ministry. 



IMPORTANCE OF PREACHING. 191 

Not only should pastors preach, but we think, with Fene- 
lon, under our own explanation, that it belongs to them only 
to preach.* True political eloquence belongs only to the 
statesman ; true sacred eloquence, only to the statesman in 
religion or religious affairs, that is to say, the pastor ; who 
alternately passes from generalities to details, and from de- 
tails to generalities ; from theory to practice, and from prac- 
tice to theory ; who has been in contact with individuals, 
and is familiar with their ways. If certain men without a 
parish are successful in preaching, it is because they are pas- 
tors after another manner and at large. 

It is true that the primitive Church divided ministerial 
functions. They had Kv6epvrjTaLf and dLdaoitaXoi.% "Are 
all apostles ? are all teachers ?" — 1 Cor., xii., 29. But with- 
out saying that gifts are here referred to, and without speak- 
ing of what the necessity of the times might require, we may 
hold that the office of some was absolutely foreign to others. 
At a period when each Christian was a minister — when an 
Aquila and a Priscilla, simple artisans, became instructors 
of an Apollos, how can we suppose that the teacher was not 
a pastor ? We may well think that there were elders (npsa- 
dvrepoi) who did not preach, but not preachers who were 
strangers to every other pastoral duty except preaching. 
Paul preached and governed : Timothy preached and gov- 
erned. 

The pastorate, then, is necessary to preaching ; but it is 
yet more evident that preaching is essential to the pastorate, 

* " We must commonly leave preaching to pastors. Thus shall 
we give to the pulpit the simplicity and authority which belong to it. 
For pastors, who to experience in the work and in the conduct of souls 
unite the knowledge of the Scriptures, can speak in the manner best 
suited to the wants of their hearers ; whereas preachers, who are 
merely speculative, enter less into the difficulties, and can scarcely 
adapt themselves to the minds of their hearers, and speak in a more 
vague manner." — Fenelon, Dialogues sur V Eloquence (Dialogue III.). 

f Governors or directors. — Edit. % Teachers. 



192 IMPORTANCE OF PREACHING. 

and that we can not conceive of a pastor who does not preach ; 
we would say, who does not preach in public (for, as respects 
preaching out of season, who can doubt this ?) ; since, apart 
from preaching, to the minister there remains nothing of 
the feeder and of the pastor. But public preaching is essen- 
tial to the pastorate, which, without this, can not reach all 
souls, and can not present truth under the most regular and 
most general form. It is the glory of our Reformation that 
it restored public preaching to the Church, I say even to the 
Catholic Church. How noble was it to advance the priest 
from the mere celebration of rites (which had become a spe- 
cies of magic) to science, to thought, to the word, to conflict ? 

§ 2. Principles or Maxims which should be maintained as 
to Preaching. 

On the subject of preaching, we must adopt certain prin- 
ciples, or acknowledge certain commanding truths. 

The first is, that preaching is an action, a real word, not 
the imitation of a word, and that eloquence is a virtue. Ab- 
stracting art, preaching is a work of love, a good work, a good 
office, a part of the service of God. But this is only the first 
step : here is the second. 

Preaching is a mijstery. A mystery, I mean, as to its action 
and its effects, a mystery of reprobation and salvation ;# for 
the word of God (which we assume to be in the preacher's 
mouth) does not return to him without some effect ; some- 
thing of truth, whether for gain or for loss, always connects 
itself, and remains with him who has heard it. It is truly 
mysterious that on the voice of one man the soul and the 
eternity of another should depend. Mysterious truly ! a 
mode of action so peculiar, so inexplicable, the effect of which 
so far outreaches our calculations, and so often disappoints 

* St. Cyran calls it an almost sacrament, and more awful than that 
of the altar. (See in the Appendix, note B.) • 



IMPORTANCE OF PREACHING. 193 

our foresight : How often do we see the greatest effects con- 
nected with the smallest causes, as the smallest also with the 
greatest ; power becoming feeble, and impotence powerful ; 
one succeeding by another's shipwreck, and vice versa : 
Laws there are, no doubt, but no constancy ; and all rules 
are subordinated to the liberty of the Spirit, which "bloweth 
as it listeth." 

All this is awful, overwhelming, but suited to empty us of 
ourselves. It is evident that we carry this treasure in earthen 
vessels, and that all which depends on us (if any thing does 
depend on us) is that the vessel has no leak through which 
the living water may escape, and no impurity by which it 
may be corrupted. The rest belongs not to us; and so much 
the less does it belong to us, the more we imagine that it 
does. In respect to preaching, then, as well as in respect to 
the whole work of the ministry, we have cause to rejoice with 
trembling. 

The sovereignty of God in this matter (the first point to be 
recognized) does not exclude human responsibility. Preach- 
ing is an action, but an action of the soul, and its effects arc 
connected with the preacher's spiritual state. It is not so 
much by what he says as by what he is that the preacher 
may flatter himself that he does not beat the air. Before 
every thing, he is concerned to " hold the mystery of the faith 
in a pure conscience." — 1 Tim., iii., 9. This pure conscience 
(that is to say, uprightness of intention) is the true force ol 
preaching. A discourse is powerful from the motive of him 
who pronounces it, whatever may be the mode in which that 
motive expresses itself. A discourse is so much the better, 
the more it resembles an act of contrition, of submission, of 
prayer, of martyrdom. The preacher should regard himself 
as " a channel for what ought to be conveyed by him into 
the heart of his hearers."* " The ministry of the word," 
says Fenelon, " is wholly founded on faith." We must pray. 
* Praktischc Bemerkungcn, etc., p. 49. 
I 



194 PROPHESYING. 

we must purify our heart, we must expect every thing from 
heaven, we must arm ourselves with the sword of the word 
of God, and not count upon any thing in ourselves : this is 
the essential preparation."* In a word, our lips are naturally 
denied ; they must be purged, and purged by fire.f In short, 
preaching, which is a divine mystery, is also a human action, 
and the best part of this action is inward, spiritual, anterior 
even to the act of composing the discourse. The discourse 
finishes the work which prayer should begin. 

To this general direction we unite a more particular one, 
which is expressed by St. Paul in these words : " Let him 
who has received the gift of prophesying exercise it accord- 
ing to the proportion of faith which he has received" (Rom., 
xii., 6), which further signifies, according to the proportion 
of life which he has in him. It is true that he is obliged to 
preach on a fixed and prescribed day. If he does not always 
find himself in a frame for prophesying (that is to say, for 
speaking with that fullness of heart, and that force which 
will carry the hearers along with him), he must confine him- 
self to teaching; that is to say, treating a subject regularly 
without aiming to impress any thing. \ ' ; Whether we be 
beside ourselves, it is to God ; or whether we be sober, it is 
for your cause." — 2 Cor., v., 13. 

The evil consists not in being in one state rather than an- 
other, but in not exercising our gift according to the measure 
of faith and of life with which we ourselves are exercised at 
a given moment, to wish to force our state — the hand of 

* Fenelon : Dialogues sur I 'Eloquence (Dialogue III.). 

t " Then, said I, woe is me ! for I am undone ; because I am a man 
of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips ; 
for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then flew one 
of the cherubims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he 
had taken with the tongs from off the altar ; and he laid it upon my 
mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips ; and thine iniquity is 
taken away, and thy sin purged." — Isaiah, vi., 5-7. 

t Praktische Bemerkungen, p. 37, 38. 



TEACHING. 195 

God ; to think that a blessing may be connected with a de- 
ception ; for there is deception when our thought is surpassed 
by our word. We would always be very eloquent ; we must 
content ourselves sometimes with being sober, humble, and 
feeble. A discourse cold and feeble, but honest, will often be 
more blessed tllan an eloquent discourse, which transcends 
the inward frame. 

There is, moreover, in preaching an action more intellect- 
ual, more our own still. Neither the sovereignty of God 
nor the spiritual nature of the action diminishes its import- 
ance or impairs its necessity. God does not intend that a 
good and a bad instrument should give the same sounds, and 
indeed they do not. I admit that the power of God honors 
itself in our weakness, but not in our voluntary weakness, 
which is but a diminution of the strength He has given us, 
and a throwing away, so to speak, or a despising a part of 
His grace. The more we feel the seriousness, the responsi- 
bility, the danger of our mission, the more shall we be in- 
duced to watch, to exercise forethought, to make provision : 
Our own little providence enters into the account in the cal- 
culations of the providence of God. It was said to men once 
that they should not concern themselves as to what they 
should speak, expecting that what they ought to speak would 
be suggested to them at the time. — Mark, xiii., 11. But 
this has not been said to us, at least not in an absolute man- 
ner. We must, then, bestow pains upon preaching; we must 
preach well. Homiletics have no other object than to initiate 
us. They will be the most careful in preparation who best 
know that they can do nothing, and that they are nothing. 

But an objection here occurs : May we both preach much 
and preach well ? They who make this objection assume as 
evident, or at least take for granted, that we ought to preach 
much. All are not of this opinion ; we must, then, in tne 
first place, clear this point. 

As it is evident that we are not at liberty to multiply 



196 FREQUENCY OF PREACHING. 

the hours of worship which the law has numbered and pre- 
scribed to us, the assertion that we should preach much sig- 
nifies either that the law ought to multiply the occasions of 
worship, or that, apart from the places and days which it has 
consecrated, the minister ought to teach, to explain, to ex- 
hort. I suppose that, in one way or another, the pastor is at 
liberty to give his flock the bread of the word often, and if 
he may, why, I ask, should he not ? In all cases, there are, 
doubtless, metes and bounds ; but surely it is proper that there 
should be an abundance of what is good and useful ; and it 
would be a calamity, in order to make preaching more sol- 
emn, or more perfect m a literary respect, to make more 
scarce a word which can not too much abound, and which 
seldom reaches the human heart, except at the price of a fre- 
quent repetition. There are various opinions on this subject. 
Some recommend frequent preaching,* as I have done ; oth- 
ers think the obligation to preach often oppressive, especially 
to young ecclesiastics.! 

"We should distinguish, I think, between parochial, official 
preaching (which is not frequent, and, of course, leaves the 
objection without force), and preaching " out of season." 
But supposing that official preaching were more frequent, 
and the objection consequently in force, what is the answer? 

We must not reply by making a distinction between places ; 
for good preaching is as necessary, as difficult, in the country 
as in-the'city. In this respect a prejudice is still prevalent. 
Harms, t on this subject, relates a passage in the life of An- 
dreas, who, after having preached without preparation to a 
country congregation, said to his son, "Did you not observe 
my distress and my hesitation ? They were such that I was 
upon the point of leaving the pulpit. Never have I been as 
near losing all presence of mind as before these poor peas- 
ants. The grace of God almost wholly forsook me, because I 

* De Baudry : Guide du Pre"dicateur, p. 114. 

^ Harm* : Pastorallheologie, tome i., p. 39. t Tome i.. p. 49 



GENERAL PREPARATION. 197 

despised this poor people as not deserving the trouble of a care- 
ful preparation. Let my experience make you wiser, my son." 

We make no distinction, then, but say that there should 
be a general preparation for preaching ; a thorough and con- 
tinual study of the flock, of human life, of ourselves, and of 
the Bible ; a habit of disciplining our mind and arranging 
our ideas, which will never leave us at a loss in a simple ad- 
dress or a familiar exposition of the Bible. I would not have 
this done without special preparation ; but a very short one 
may suffice.^ 

It is this general preparation, and not natural talent only, 
which explains the never fruitless abundance of Calvin, who 
in ten years preached four thousand and twenty-four ser- 
mons — that is to say, four a week ; and of Whitefield, who 
in thirty-four years preached eighteen thousand sermons, or 
ten a week. The parochial preacher is to be distinguished 

* " But you have naturally, you say, a memory which unfits you for 
speaking in public ; but is not your heart as faithless and as rebell- 
ious as your memory 1 The solemn, the holy ministry of pastoral in- 
struction is not a dry and puerile exercise of memory ; it is the heart, 
it is the inmost soul, that must now speak. Ah ! my dear brethren, 
if we contemplate the truths of religion in the holy books — if we love 
them — if we nourish ourselves by them — if we make them our com- 
mon and most delightful study, Ave shall not be so greatly troubled 
when duty requires us to present them to our people. We soon learn 
to speak what we love ; the heart supplies us much better than the 
memory, and has also a language which the memory does not know. 
A holy pastor, moved by God, and by regard to the salvation of the 
souls which are confided to him, finds, in the liveliness of his zeal, and 
the fullness of his heart, expressions having the impress of the Holy 
Spirit, the spirit of love and of light, a thousand times more power- 
ful to move, to reclaim sinners, than all those which are furnished 
by labor and the vain artifice of human eloquence. Do not, then, say 
that you have no talent. The talent of an orator is not what is re- 
quired : it is the talent of a father ; and what other talent docs a fa- 
ther need in speaking to his children but affection for them, and a de- 
sire for their welfare." — Massillon : Dix-septibme Discours Synodal; 
de V Observance des Statuts ct des Ordonnances du Diocese, 



198 SPECIAL PREPARATION. 

from the Reformer and the missionary ; but why should he 
not, in a small measure, "be both ? He is, in effect, nothing 
if he does not combine these two characters ; for, excepting 
some souls that belong to him, or, rather, to God, all the rest 
are to be conquered. We often have a false image of a par- 
ish, and it is well that Christian zeal has promoted acolyths 
to regular pastors. 

We repeat that it is not proper to distinguish between places 
(country and city) ; we may, however, distinguish between 
sermons — -some more after the manner of a treatise, others of 
a familiar exposition or address. Our time should be chiefly 
given to the first. We add, thirdly, that we should have more 
time if, on the one hand, we would learn to substitute force 
for time, the intensive for the extensive ;* on the other, if We 
would addict ourselves to recollection, to solitude, to making 
thorough work with every subject that engages us, to using 
every moment to advantage.! 

We must not delay preparation. Reinhard relates that, be- 
ing often engaged in occupations which absorbed the greater 
part of his time, and being subject, at certain seasons, to sud- 
den indispositions which incapacitated him for application, he 
formed the resolution never to delay to the last moment the 
composition of his sermons ; and that he also made it a rule 
never to preach one sermon without having prepared that 
which was to follow it. He felicitated himself that he had 
formed this habit, as it saved him from the embarrassment 
of having to preach without sufficient preparation, or after a 
hasty preparation ; and as it enabled him to work over his 
sermons when it happened that, in composing them, he did 
not succeed altogether as he wished. $ 

* Intensity for length. — Edit. 

t M. Durand meditated in the streets, and he was sometimes seen 
going into alleys to take notes. 

t Lcttres de Reinhard sur les Etudes et sa Carriere de Predicateur, tra- 
duite de VAllemand, par J. Monod. Paris, 1816, p. 77, 78. 



EXTEMPORANEOUS PREACHING. 199 

The question of preaching extempore naturally presents it- 
self here. Opinions on this point are various. " While there 
are so many pressing necessities in Christianity," says Fene- 
lon ; "while the priest, who ought to be a man of God, pre- 
pared to every good work, should hasten to eradicate igno- 
rance and scandals from the field of the Church, I think it is 
very unworthy of him to be passing his life in his closet in 
rounding periods, in retouching descriptions, and in inventing 
divisions ; for, when one gets into the way of this kind of 
preaching, he has time to do nothing else ; he can pursue no 
other study, no other labor ; nay, more, to relieve himself he is 
often obliged to repeat continually the same sermons. What 
eloquence is that of a man whose hearer knows beforehand 
all his expressions and all his moving appeals ? A likely 
way, indeed, to surprise, to astonish, to soften, to convince, 
and to persuade men ! a strange method of concealing art 
and letting nature speak. For my part, I say frankly that 
all this offends me. What ! shall a steward of the mysteries 
of God be an idle declaimer, jealous of his reputation, and 
ambitious of vain pomp ? Shall he not venture to speak of 
God to his people without having arranged all his words, and 
learned, like a school-boy, his lesson by heart ?" # 

We elsewhere read : " Although it is the custom in some 
countries to read sermons, or, at least, to write and repeat 
them, which is necessary in certain places, where the preach- 
er may be obliged to produce his discourse as written after 
having delivered it ; still, generally speaking, such a way of 
preaching does not seem to produce as much impression on 
the hearers as free discourse, which induces me to prefer 
this last method. "t 

Harms, on the contrary, would have the sermon wholly 

* Fenelon : Dialogues sur VEloqucncc (Dialogue III.). See also Dia- 
logue II. 

t Praktischc Bemcrkungen die Fuhrung dcs cvangclischeti Fred /ft.:, - 
tes betreffend. — Hernhutt, p. 47. 



200 PREPARATION OF THE PREACHER. 

written out : " If the majority of your hearers do not remark 
a badly -managed transition, a blank, a vulgar or obscure 
word, an equivocal or unintelligible proposition ; if they do 
not perceive that your preaching is without profound thought, 
or that you never cite any other than the most familiar pas- 
sages of the Bible, or that your expressions are too studied, 
yet be sure that, in the number of those who hear you, there 
will be some who will not fail to see all this, and who will 
think ill of you for not being better prepared."* 

Spener made it a rule, up to 1675, to write and to com- 
mit his sermons to memory. Afterward, yielding to the 
counsels of friends, he preached for a certain time from mi- 
nute notes ; but he soon returned to his first method, and 
never afterward forsook it. He recommends in all things 
a serious meditation on the substantive subject-matter, rath- 
er than on the form to be given to the sermon, a meditation 
to be accompanied by fervent prayer ; and he advises preach- 
ers, particularly those who, having a facility of speaking 
without preparation, may be more disposed to yield them- 
selves to indolence, to reserve a fixed time for this exercise.f 

If we were required to give a general rule, we should say 
that a preacher should, as far as possible, be carefully pre- 
pared. The preparation may be made in different methods. 
Some say they can not prepare without writing, and can not 
preach without reciting what they have written ; others 
maintain that they can not prepare in this way, because they 
are not able to fix in their memory a written sermon. We 
must discard these two impossibilities : the minister should 
be able to speak without having written, and every minister 
should have it in his power to learn a sermon which he has 
composed. Some, it is true, though a very small number, 
have so treacherous a memory that we can not oblige them 
to learn and recite. These have no liberty of choice, and the 

* Pastoraltheologie, tome i., p. 48, 49. 

t See Bukk, Pastoraltheologie, tome i., p. 164. 



PREPARATION OF THE PREACHER. 201 

mode of their preparations is prescribed to them by necessity ; 
but then they are exceptions, which are very rare. Now, all 
that we can recommend, in general, is preparation. If we 
do not recite a sermon written and learned beforehand, even 
this preparation, in order to be complete and sufficient, will 
require more care and labor, a more intense and vigorous ef- 
fort. Extemporizing can not be authorized, unless when it 
be such as can hardly take this name. The sermon ought 
to be well and solidly prepared. "Without this, we run the 
risk of becoming always more careless, and of contenting 
ourselves with what costs us little. In general, the young 
preacher should write and recite. Let him take care, how- 
ever, and seek to acquire the memory of ideas with and be- 
fore that of words. He will thus prepare himself for a freer 
way of preaching. As to extemporaneous preaching, proper- 
ly so called, we absolutely reject this method. Great ora- 
tors, Bossuet, Fenelon, etc., have fallen by it, not only below 
themselves, but below ordinary preachers. "We may, how- 
ever, extemporize if it be unavoidable ; an occasion may oc- 
cur, and even frequently, when the preacher may either find 
himself, after having entered the pulpit, induced to make 
changes in a sermon which he has written, or be in unfore- 
seen circumstances, which require him to speak without prep- 
aration. 

Spiritual meditation before preaching is of great import- 
ance. " He must," says St. Cyran, " labor long at mortifi- 
cation of spirit, seeing that we ought to be more afraid of 
offending God in the pulpit than elsewhere."* 

" The best preparation for preaching," it is said in the 
practical observations of Hernhutt, " is daily communion 
with Christ, watching our own heart, and constant reading 
of the word of God. Thus is secured that precious simplic- 
ity which has always been the chief characteristic of all the 
distinguished witnesses of the grace of Christ." 

* St. Cyran: Lettres <) M. Le Hebeurs. Lettre XXXI. 
I 2 



202 OBJECT OF PREACHING. 

§ 3. Object of Preaching. 

The object of preaching (of every sermon, I mean) should 
be " Jesus Christ crucified, who of God is made unto us wis- 
dom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption." — 1 Cor., 
i. 5 30. In every sermon we must either start from Christ or 
come to him. The whole of Christianity should be in every 
sermon, in this sense that sanctification never appear in it 
independent of faith, nor faith separate from sanctification. 
Where this combination does not appear of itself, where these 
two elements are not so incorporated and consubstantial, the 
one with the other, that it is morally and rationally impos- 
sible to speak of one without speaking of the other, there no 
true Gospel is present, and that which is preached is not the 
Gospel. 

It is according to this sense that we must understand the 
words of St. Paul : "I determined not to know any thing 
among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified." — 1 Cor., 
ii., 2. These words signify, first, that St. Paul did not seek 
and did not publish salvation in any other than Jesus Christ ; 
but they also signify that in whatever he taught he return- 
ed to this, came back to this, that this was every where pres- 
ent in his preaching, actually or virtually, as substance or 
as savor. But these same words do not signify absolutely 
that St. Paul knew nothing else. On the contrary, he knew, 
and the true pastor, after his example, should know, a great 
deal else. It is true, very often, that a preacher who liter- 
ally knows nothing but Christ crucified, who puts nothing 
but this in his sermons, may produce excellent effects ; so 
great is the value and the expansive force of the Christian 
doctrine. But this does not form the rule : The rule rather 
is to show, to enforce the relation of religion to whatever 
pertains to man and to human life. So far from having us 
ignorant of every thing, the rule much rather would have us 
know, or at least understand, every thing ; not in order to 



UNITY OF PREACHING. 203 

declare, not in order to display in the pulpit an encyclopedia 
of knowledge, but that nothing may be said which may meet 
a contradiction, or that will not find confirmation in facts ; 
and aiso that every thing which Ave speak may be more di- 
rect, more striking, more true. There are a thousand things 
which we should never speak of in the pulpit, of which, 
nevertheless, we should not be ignorant ; and an experienced 
hearer will discern in a sermon which speaks only of Jesus 
Christ and of religion the imprint or the reflection of divers- 
ified knowledge, which the orator does not outwardly pro- 
duce, but which turns within him in succum et sanguinem. 
Besides, we can not in all cases say beforehand what a Chris- 
tian orator should or should not speak. Necessarily, he is to 
speak of human life ; and, to be instructive, he must enter into 
details : Who may say where is the limit. What would be 
superfluous in certain times or in certain places, in others 
would be no more than necessary. 

In theology, it is very necessary to distinguish between 
doctrine and morality ; but a nice distinction between ser- 
mons on doctrine and sermons on morality is of small import- 
ance to a Christian preacher. Doctrine and morality, which 
are interfused, identified in the Christian heart, should be so 
in Christian preaching. I would have no other rule than 
this : let doctrine abound in moral preaching, and morality 
abound in doctrinal preaching. But, without doubt, a preach- 
er should oblige himself to give to his parishioners instruc- 
tion, both moral and doctrinal, as complete as possible. 



§4. Unity of Preaching. 

What we have now said leads us to observe, that preaching 
in a parish should be regarded as a whole, and not be made 
up of detached discourses, of each of which chance alone has 
furnished the subject. It is one continuous action ; it is only 
one and the same sermon formed of many consecutive sermons. 



204 UNITY OF PREACHING. 

This may be so, it should be so, even when we pursue nei- 
ther a systematic order of subjects, nor preach on a book or 
books of the Bible. Both these methods have their utility. 
The one relieves us of the trouble of choosing a text, the 
other that of choosing a subject. There is a consecutiveness 
— a progress in them also, which interests and which attracts. 

But even without following either of these courses, the 
true pastor will have one marked out to him by his own ob- 
servation and experience. 

In order to this, it is necessary that we should regard the 
parish as a whole — a unit, as it is to every intelligent ob- 
server. It has a life, the phases of which are successive : 
it receives from our ministry a development which author- 
izes and urges us to modify our preaching. There is, there 
ought to be, between the pastor and his flock a common life, 
a reciprocal sensation, which conforms the auditory to the 
preacher and the preacher to the auditory. TVTien the preach- 
er has not received from his life as a pastor the word of com- 
mand as to his successive preachings, we may doubt wheth- 
er his ministry is well understood and well discharged. 

In a congregation where there are two pastors, who preach 
by turns to the same auditory, it is very desirable that there 
should be so much union, and so much mutual confidence 
and agreement between them, as to enable them to suit their 
sermons to one another, so that they form, in a certain sense, 
but one instance of preaching, only one whole, in which rep- 
etition is avoided no less than contradiction. 



§ 5. Different Classes combined in the same Auditory. 

The unity of the parish is consistent with classes, and class- 
es very distinct. 

In a religious view, there are the converted and the un 
converted ; or, if we will, those who have not yet received 
the Gospel — whether they admit or reject revelation, or 



OF THE AUDITORY. 205 

whether they are in doubt on this subject, or whether it is 
vague and confused in their apprehension, all, however, in 
this respect equal, that the cross of Jesus is yet to them 
a stumbling-block or foolishness — and those who, consenting 
to seek their salvation in Jesus Christ, need henceforth to be 
more and more confirmed in their hope, and to walk with 
more steadfast step in the way in which Christ himself walk- 
ed. Shall we preach alternately to these two classes ? or, 
should we not rather introduce into each discourse something 
suited to both? I think it essential to speak in such a way 
that no one may deceive himself as to the unchangeable con- 
dition of salvation, and, what comes to the same thing, of 
sanctification. This secured, explicit and formal classifica- 
tions do not seem to me generally necessary ; and I think 
they are subject to more than one inconvenience, especially 
when they assume, as they commonly do with certain preach- 
ers, a direct and allocutive form. As occasion may require, 
describe the situation of each of these classes, but do not 
give them, form; do not design them; do not teach your au- 
ditory to divide themselves into envious and hostile groups.^ 
The auditory, no doubt, includes many sorts of men ; nay, 
more, it includes so many shades of character, that your word 
can not suffice for all. We speak of sermons of appeal and 
sermons of sanctification : let us make both ; or, let the same 
discourse exhibit both elements successively ; but let us bear 
well in mind that the word of appeal applies to those who 
have already responded to the appeal, and the word of sanc- 
tification to those who have not responded to it. In one 
sense all, even the most advanced, have need to be called 

* " To separate your hearers into two classes, and to apostrophize 
them, one after another, in these terms : Ye sinners who have been 
graciously accepted; ye awakened sinners, and ye unrepentant sin- 
ners, tends only to irritation. Hold up to all the clear mirror of the 
Gospel, and each one, beholding himself in it, will see in what class 
he ought to place himself." — Prakt.ische Bemerhmgen, p. 33. 



206 OF THE AUDITORY. 

anew ; and the most alienated and the greatest strangers may 
be called by a sermon of sanctification. Of this there are a 
thousand examples. Conversion is but a moment in sancti- 
fication, and sanctification is but conversion repeated (con- 
tinued) and prolonged. 

The auditory is susceptible of further divisions. The only 
distinction of importance is that between the wise and the 
ignorant. St. Paul declares that he was debtor to both. I 
would not that the wants of the wise should be neglected ; 
but, certain cases excepted, which may be easily represented, 
and of which the reckoning is soon made, we have before us 
an auditory, mixed, of the wise and the ignorant, and in which 
the ignorant make the majority. Now what for the second 
is necessary is not unsuitable to the first; but what is proper 
to the first is not suitable to the second. A man who un- 
derstands his subject and his work can speak to the ignorant 
in a manner interesting and instructive to the wise. Depth 
and simplicity meet at the same point. Have you an audi- 
ence composed of forty-nine wise and one ignorant ? speak 
for that ignorant one. It is more necessary to efface than to 
render prominent the differences which exist among the dif- 
ferent classes of an audience. The accidental, individual 
man should disappear, and give place to the universal man. 
In this consists the force of the ministry, the greatness and 
power of eloquence. Study your discourse with reference to 
all your hearers indiscriminately; but give no particular 
class occasion to think that you design to flatter their ears 
and obtain their favor. In Germany they make sermons fur 
Gebildete.* "What are these ? Great eloquence is popu- 
lar : great orators have been popular ones. Bourdaloue him- 
self was such, with all his knowledge of composition, 

* For educated people. — Edit. 



POPULARITY— FAMILIARITY. 207 

§ 6. Popularity, Familiarity, Unction. 

Popularity and familiarity are two similar though distinct 
qualities. The first respects, in the auditory, only the peo- 
ple — man ; familiarity regards the relations not only of re- 
ligion to man, but of the pastor to the parish, which is as 
his family. Familiarity is not vulgarity ; it consists with 
nobleness; and, well conceived, it is the noblest language. 
In this familiarity of the pastor with his parish there is 
something of the grasping of a naked hand by another naked 
hand. The warmth of life is reciprocally felt when the hands 
are ungloved, that there may be nothing intervening between 
man and man. *■ 

Authority, in the objective sense, is the right or privilege 
of being obeyed or believed ; subjectively, it is the conscious- 
ness of this right. A preacher speaks with authority when 
we perceive in his language a sense of this right, and that 
this sense is what it should be. 

In the second sense, we may say that authority is generally 
essential to eloquence, essential especially to preaching, and 
that it comes well from all. But it has its conditions, its 
means, its obstacles. 

In general, to speak with authority, we must be convinced 
of the truth of what we say, have confidence in the intrinsic 
power of truth, and be penetrated with the interest we de- 
fend. We must also have a certain confidence in ourselves. 
I do not mean self-importance. These qualities affect the 
hearers immediately and mediately ; immediately by their 
own influence : we believe willingly in one who himself is 
a believer ; mediately, by the calmness, the serenity, which 
they impart. More is revealed than is spoken. 

As to the preacher in particular, his authority comes from 
his speaking not in his own name, but in the name of God, 
and from his depending not on the power of his word, but on 
the power of the word and Spirit of God ; finally, from his 



20» AUTHORITY OF THE PREACHER. 

expecting his approval from God. Hence authority in him 
should be regarded as a duty. 

What he adds to this from his own fund, experience of the 
truth,* and the conformity of his life to his doctrine,! per- 
tains to causes before mentioned ; it is not the source, it is 
derived from the source. Even with convinced, established, 
and pious men, authority is diminished by excess of reasoning 
and by vehemence. 

The preacher certainly ought to demonstrate, that others 
may share his own conviction ; but it often suffices to shoiu, 
as most splendidly did Jesus Christ. In fact, Christian truth 
is perceived by intuition. Free exposition doubtless does 
much ; but we greatly obstruct our path$ by the language 
of asseveration, and at the same time we diminish our au- 
thority. It is not, however, implied that we should so de- 
mean ourselves as to say, Believe because I believe. In one 
way or another, the force of demonstration must be in what 
we utter. 

Vehemence lessens authority. It is in place on certain 
occasions, but the ordinary tone of preaching is a tranquil 
force. Serenity is more impressive. Bourdaloue had a sor- 
rowful calmness, Bossuet a luminous serenity. 

Has the Protestant preacher an authority equal to that of 
the Catholic ? The Catholic is supported by an imposing 
human, and of course factitious, authority. In him the re- 
ligion, so to speak, gives her authority to her minister. The 
Protestant is the representative of free investigation ; he has 
no support but from himself; he speaks as an individual; 
has he not, however, enough of authority if he be a Chris- 
tian ? In the Protestant Church, one may have a certain 

* " That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, 
which we have seen with our eyes, and which our hands have han- 
dled of the word of life." — 1 John, i., 1. 

t " Nil conscire sibi." — Horat. : Epist., lib. i., v. 61. 

i French. On croisp h fer. 



AUTHORITY OF THE PREACHER. 209 

Catholicism which lends to the minister as much authority as 
Catholicism, in the proper sense, does to the priest. As the 
law makes the whole community a Church, there is a com- 
pact mass (a unit), which gives authority to the minister. 
The march of thought, on this point, has put men very much 
at their ease. In our times, the majority is dissolved, or, 
rather, the true majority is discovered : The state of things 
is not worse ; on the contrary, it is but better known. The 
number of believers and faith itself have not suffered from 
it. The position of the pastor toward his flock has, without 
doubt, changed ; but the preacher has always his flock — his 
sheep. Few wish to remain or enter within the pale of the 
Church. We have to be missionaries. But if this new po- 
sition is difficult, it is noble. It neither destroys nor weakens 
authority ; it purifies it, and reduces it to its true elements. 
Authority has become, truly, the authority of conviction. 
The priest is "a plaintive king."^ Is the sentiment of au- 
thority, in these days, stronger, or more rare and feeble ? I 
dare not answer. It appears to me, however, that the 
preacher does not assume the authority he might have. 

The modesty or humility which restrains us from speaking 
or acting with authority is a poor apology. We are to be 
neither modest nor humble at God's injury, or at the ex- 
pense of truth. To a man who, in personal respects, is our 
superior, we have superiority from our commission. An em- 
bassador, a plenipotentiary, regards not what he is, but the 
powers with which he is clothed ; and, however modest he 
may be, with these he may become peremptory. 

Between him and us there is doubtless a difference, which 
leads us into error and blame by the inferences we draw from 
the analogy. We know that we ought not only to represent, 
but that we ought to be, and that what we are confirms or 
enfeebles our word. But if, because we can never rise in 
character to the height of our mission, we may abstain from 
* St. Beuve : Port Royal, tome i., p. 469. 



210 AUTHORITY OF THE PREACHER. 

fulfilling it, no one would ever fulfill it. Whatever we are, 
we carry this treasure in earthen vessels, which never will 
be golden ones ; hut God himself has appointed these vessels 
to bear and to distribute this treasure. If we feel humbled 
by the unavoidable comparison of the vessel with the treas- 
ure which it contains, this humiliation is beneficial ; it does 
not divest us of all proper authority ; it casts us altogether 
on that of God. 

There is a state of mind, doubtless, which hinders us from 
taking the statutes of God in our mouth ; it is the state we 
are in when we hate correction. — Ps. 1., 16. But if the hu- 
miliation which we experience as feeble Christians, and 
which increases in proportion as we advance in the Chris- 
tian life, should restrain us from reproving, it should restrain 
us also from teaching ; for teaching is equally above us, and 
all teaching reproves. So far is humility from injuring au- 
thority, that it is in humility that authority should temper 
and purify itself. It is useful for us to say to ourselves, 
" Homines sumus, nee aliud quam fragiles homines, etiamsi 
angeli a multis sestimamur et dicimur."* 

St. Paul (Tit., ii., 15) would have us " reprove with full 
authority."! Reproof, an element of preaching, is a princi- 
pal part of the pastoral office. And, moreover, how can we 
refrain from it ? Have we a right to be merciful if we have 
not first been severe ? Will the hearers accept pardon if 
they have not felt condemned ? I do not speak here of in- 
dividual or private reproof, but of that which has place in 
the pulpit. Easier than the first, because that reaches ev- 
ery one, and less afflicts individuals ; this still is difficult, on 
account of its publicity, its solemnity, and the narrowness of 

* " We are men, frail men, and nothing more, though many re- 
gard us as angels of God." — Imitation de Jesus Christ. 

t " He shall reprove with equity ; he shall smite the earth with the 
rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the 
wicked." — Isaiah, xi., 4. 



OF REPROOF. 211 

its range.* Being collective, it is more general, less cutting, 
less penetrating. It is, however, to be understood that I 
speak of the censure of the flock as a special individuality, 
not simply as some portion of humanity. We must put our 
finger on the particular blemish in the flock we are address- 
ing. This special censure is necessary if the flock is a real- 
ity : It makes it more serious, it gives it a sentiment appriz- 
ing it of its existence as a flock, and of its relations to the 
pastor. It is a great force when it is used as it ought to be. 

Times and places, unquestionably, do not allow the same 
thing to all. We have not the same liberty with a promis- 
cuous auditory as we have with a particular and chosen 
Church. A young man may not do what an old one may. 
Still, I see not why a minister may not do whatever a pri- 
vate person, who exalts himself to be a censor of morals, may 
do, pen in hand. Only he must, 1. Avoid all appearance of 
personality, and to this end, he must not give portraits ; his 
object is never to nourish malignity ; 2. Prefer direct censure 
to oblique allusion; 3. Not forget that the wrath of man 
worketh not the righteousness of God, and that, in general, 
the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace. If it be truth 
that offends, this is not our concern ; but if it is we that of- 
fend, then are we responsible. A satirical spirit never does 
good. Young preachers should keep themselves most seri- 
ously on their guard, lest, without thinking of it, they yield to 
a temptation no less natural than subtile, that of using the 
pulpit simply as an instrument of sharp censure. Vehe- 
mence, a holy indignation, may sometimes be allowed, invec- 
tive never. If indignation impresses, anger inflames and re- 
bels. This distinction is just ; for we may hate evil without 
loving good. 

From our usages as to preaching, eulogium seldom has 
place in the pulpit. St. Paul, however, gives us examples of 
it, in addressing certain Churches. We may not, then, pro- 

* Public reproof can extend to but few points, comparatively. — Tr. 



212 UNCTION. 

scribe praise or approbation : When, however, we consider 
what the primitive Churches were, we may learn that what 
was done then can not be as commonly done now. 

Unction. — This word, taken in its etymology, and in its 
primitive acceptation, denotes no special quality of preach- 
ing, but rather the grace and the efficacy which are connect- 
ed with it by the Spirit of God ; a kind of seal and sanction 
which consists less in outward signs than in an impression 
received by the soul. But as, in ascending to the cause of 
this effect, we distinguish particularly certain characters, it 
is to the reunion of these characters that we have given the 
name of unction. Unction seems to me to be the total char- 
acter of the Grospel ; to be recognized, doubtless, in each of 
its parts, but especially apprehensible in their assemblage. 
It is the general savor of Christianity ; it is a gravity accom- 
panied by tenderness, a severity tempered with sweetness, a 
majesty associated with intimacy; the true contemperature 
of the Christian dispensation, in which, according to the 
Psalmist's expression, " Mercy and truth have met togeth- 
er, righteousness and peace have kissed each other." — Ps. 
lxxxv., 10. It is so proper a thing to Christianity and to 
Christian matters, that we scarcely can think of transferring 
the term to other spheres, and when we meet with it ap- 
plied to other things than Christian discourse, or Christian 
actions, we are astonished, and can only regard it as an an- 
alogy or a metaphor. 

From the fact that the whole modern world has been 
wholly imbued with Christianity, many modern works, which 
are neither Christian nor even religious, can not be other- 
wise marked than by the word unction ; while there is no 
work of antiquity that awakens this idea. 

The idea that Maury* gives of unction is no other than 
that of Christian pathos. The definition of Blair is more dis- 

* Mau£ty : Essai sur V Eloquence de la Chair e (chap, lxxxiii.), de 
VOncdon. 



UNCTION. 213 

tinctly identical with ours. " Gravity and warmth united," 
according to this author, " form that character of preaching 
which the French call unction ; the affecting, penetrating, 
interesting manner, flowing from a strong sensibility of heart 
in the preacher to the importance cff those truths which he 
delivers, and an earnest desire that they may make a full im- 
pression on the hearts of his hearers."^ 

M. Dutoit Membrini thinks that, in order to define unction, 
an intimate and mysterious quality, we must guard against 
formal definition and analysis. It is by the effects of unction 
and by analogies that he would explain it, or, to speak bet- 
ter, give us a taste of it : 

"Unction is a mild warmth which causes itself to be felt 
in the powers of the soul. It produces in the spiritual sphere 
the same effects as the sun in the physical : it enlightens and 
it warms. It puts light in the soul ; it puts warmth in the 
heart. It causes us to know and to love ; it fills us with 
emotion." 

I willingly admit that it is a light which warms and a 
warmth which enlightens ; and I would recall on this sub- 
ject the words of St. John : " The anointing which you have 
received from him abideth in you, and this anointing teaches 
you all things." — 1 John, ii., 27. 

M. Dutoit Membrini continues thus : "Its only source is 
a regenerate and gracious spirit. It is a gift which exhausts 
itself and is lost if we do not renew this sacred fire, which 
we must always keep burning : that which feeds it is the 
internal cross, self-denial, prayer, and penitence. Unction, in 
religious subjects, is what in the poets is called enthusiasm. 
Thus unction is the heart and the power of the soul, nour- 
ished, kindled, by the sweet influence of grace. It is a soft, 
delicious, lively, inward, profound, mellifluous feeling. 

" Unction, then, is that mild, soft, nourishing, and, at the 
same time, luminous heat, which illumines the spirit, pene- 
* Blair (Lect. xxix.), Eloquence of the Pulpit. 



214 UNCTION. 

trates the heart, moves it, transports it, and which he who 
has received it conveys to the souls and the hearts which are 
prepared to receive it also. 

" Unction is felt, is experienced, it can not be analyzed. It 
makes its impression silently, and without the aid of reflec- 
tion. It is conveyed in simplicity, and received in the same 
way by the heart into which the warmth of the preacher 
passes. Ordinarily, it produces its effect, while as yet the 
taste of it is not developed in us, without our being able to 
give a reason to ourselves of what has made the impression. 
We feel, we experience, we are touched, we can hardly say 
why. 

" We may apply to him who has received it these words 
of the prophet Isaiah : ' Behold, I will make thee a new sharp 
threshing instrument having teeth.' — Isaiah, xli., 15. This 
man makes furrows in hearts." 

From all that has been said, we must not conclude that 
unction, which has much the same principle as piety, is ex- 
actly proportioned to piety. Unction may be very unequal 
in two preachers, equal in piety ; but it is too closely related 
to Christianity to be absolutely wanting to truly Christian 
preaching. Certain obstacles, some natural, others of error 
or of habit, may do injury to unction, and obstruct, so to speak, 
the passage of this soft and holy oil, which should always 
flow, to lubricate all the articulations of thought, to render 
all the movements of discourse easy and just, to penetrate, 
to nourish speech. There is no artificial method of obtaining 
unction ; the oil flows of itself from the olive ; the most for- 
cible pressure will not produce a drop from the earth, or from 
a flint ; but there are means, if I may say so, by which we 
may keep, without unction, even a good basis of piety ; or, 
of dissembling the unction which is in us, and of restraining 
it from flowing without. There are things incompatible with 
unction : Such are wit,* analysis too strict, a tone too dicta- 

* Nevertheless, St. Bernard and Augustin have wit and unction. 



FORM OF PREACHING. 215 

torial, logic too formal, irony, the use of too secular or too ab- 
stract language, a form too literary ; finally, a style too com- 
pact and too close, for unction supposes abundance, overflow, 
fluidity, pliableness. 

It is the absence, rather than the presence of unction, that 
gives us its idea. It is from its opposite that we obtain its 
distinct notion, not, however, that it is but a negative qual- 
ity ; on the contrary, it is the most positive ; but positive in 
the sense of an odor, of a color, of a savor. 

But let us not contract the idea of unction by reducing it 
to an effeminate mildness, a wordy abundance, a weeping 
pathos. "We must not think that we can not have unction 
except on the condition of interdicting strictness and consec- 
utiveness in argument, and that boldness of accent, that holy 
vehemence which certain subjects demand, and without 
which, in treating them, we should be in fault. 

Massillon has unction, as Maury thinks, in a piece which 
contains nothing but reproaches.^ As an example, we cite 
Bossuet also, in the conclusion of a sermon on final impeni- 
tence. 



k 7. Form of Preaching. 

The true form of a sermon is composed of the double im- 
pression of the subject and of the subjectivity of the orator. 
The form of a sermon acknowledges only these two laws, 
which, so far from opposing, combine with one another. 

As to general forms which we may observe among preach- 
ers, as the psychological and logical form, that of continuous 
discourse, and that of parallel developments, or of discourse 
ramified, the analytical and the synthetical sermon, they are 
neither conventional nor artificial ; they are less differences 

* Maury: Eloquence de la Chaire (chap, lxxii.), de VOnction. See 
Massillon, the conclusion of the first part of the sermon, Sur VAu- 
mone. 



216 FORM OF PREACHING. 

of form than of thought, points of view, methods of conceiv- 
ing the subject of discourse. They exist in the subjects them- 
selves, and in the human mind anterior to all tradition. 

There is the same difference between the conventional 
and the spontaneous form as there is between the two physi- 
ological systems, one of which makes the prominences of the 
skull to depend on the internal developments of the brain, and 
the other these same developments to depend on the prom- 
inences of the skull ; one expressing the internal by the ex- 
ternal, the other, by the external compressing and determ- 
ining the internal ; one subordinating the external to the in- 
ternal, the other the internal to the external. We ourselves 
prefer that the external should spring from the internal, and, 
in respect to form, we give no rule but this. 

But this rule we do give ; and, in order to follow it, we 
must resolve upon doing this with a positive and determined 
will; for the arbitrary forms will be incessantly besetting 
us with their importunity ; or, rather, being born in the midst 
of them, we shall have trouble to withdraw ourselves from 
their dominion. Now let it be observed that the most nat- 
ural forms constantly tend, by servile and blind imitation, to 
become conventional types ; they are a liquid always on the 
point of coagulation ; so that we must constantly, by warmth 
and by spontaneity, keep them in a fluid state, or restore 
them to it, that we may, as far as possible, exclude formal- 
ism from our subject, our end, and our mind.* 

I understand by the form of preaching not only the frame 
or the architecture of the discourse, but the tone, the lan- 
guage, and even the topics, for to introduce new topics into 
it will somewhat change the form of the preaching : these 
are nothing more than the form of an act, which is more 
particular or more special only as it is a discourse on divine 
things. Thus, in making a sermon on the life of a godly 
man, after the manner of Catholics in preaching on the lives 

* See Herder's Briefe das Studium der Theologie betrcffend, tome i. 



UNIFORMITY. 217 

of their saints, we only change the form, not the object of 
preaching, since a life may as well serve for the text of a 
sermon as a passage of Scripture. On this subject a new 
question respecting form remains to be considered, but it is 
one of inferior and subordinate importance. 

Now, whatever extension may be given to the idea of form, 
I think we are in a strait, and that we have no excuse for 
remaining in it. 

There is a uniformity, or a too constant return of the same 
form — of one discourse after another, and one preacher after 
another.* 

In the structure of our sermons, taken separately, there is 
something stiff and scholastic : While all things are in the 
process of renovation, and when, as the result of a general 
revision, we have effaced whatever separates unduly the 
means from the end, the sermon retains a costume somewhat 
superannuated. 

Language itself has taken a costume. We are far from 
not liking and recommending biblical language. Religion 
has a language, terms which it has introduced for the ex- 
pression of new or renovated things, for Christianity " makes 
all things new," and there must, of course, be a change in 
words. But we should not think ourselves obliged to ex- 
press things in no other terms than those which the Bible 
has consecrated. That we may better reproduce the spirit 
of the sacred authors, we must less imitate than be inspired 
by them. They used a liberty which we refuse them. We 
need not debar ourselves from spheres which they appear not 
to have permitted themselves to occupy, merely because they 
had no occasion to enter them. According to the old scru- 
pulosity of the pulpit in the use of language, Paul was not 
justifiable in citing Aratus and Epimenides. Most certainly 

* On individuality in the form of the sermon, which is very rare, 
see Theremin, Die Bcrcdsamkcit eine Tugend, deuxieme edition. Ber- 
lin, 1837, p. xxirf. , de l'lntroduction. 

K 



218 DELIVERY. 

we ought not to make the temple a rendezvous for all those 
worldly recollections which our hearers should leave at the 
door ; but it may be very useful to call certain things by the 
names which are given to them in common parlance.^ 

The rule is a good one of preaching from a text ; I like it, 
provided place be left for exceptions. We ought to be al- 
lowed to preach without a text, or from two texts united. 

So far as respect for our ministry and our flock will per- 
mit, we must avail ourselves of all our advantages. " All 
things are ours." — 1 Cor., iii., 21. But let us beware of the 
spirit of innovation, which changes for the pleasure of chang- 
ing, or for the sake of appearing independent. 

The homily, a species of preaching deserving great atten- 
tion, has this among other advantages, that it almost neces- 
sarily breaks certain traditional forms of the sermon — those 
at least which respect the structure of the discourse. 

As to delivery, which is the eloquence of the body, the 
most important rules are negative ones.f Let us remember 
how much the multitude is influenced by what is external, 
and endeavor, if possible, not to preach, but speak. Bad 
habits, bad traditions, perpetuate themselves ; the good be- 
comes bad by an unintelligent imitation. Let us avoid a 
theatrical, very familiar, excessively free manner. 

k 8. Festival and occasional Sermons. 

We have said that the fundamental ideas of Christianity, 
and the chief conclusions from them, should reappear, and 
be felt in every sermon : How much more should they be 
amplified in the entire course of preaching. But it does not 
hence follow that sermons on festivals, and the Sundays pre- 
ceding them (weeks of Advent and Lent), should not have a 
distinct character of their own. These observances are rep- 

* See Reflections of Burk on the Simplicilas Catechetica. 
t For the details, see VHomiletique. 



OCCASIONAL SERMONS. 219 

utable and useful, and, if the evangelic year is of the same 
tenor, still it may have more emphatic moments. These 
seasons are good and acceptable to all, and the sad but too 
evident fact is to be taken into consideration, that these with 
us are the only occasions which bring certain members of the 
flock into the Church. We may be serious and solemn on 
every subject, even of Christian morality, as was M. Manuel, 
who preached on a communion day on the fifth command- 
ment ; but, in general, the festival itself must be our theme. 

I would not distinguish a fast-day only by more vivid and 
more accumulated censures, but would be popular and natu- 
ral in my manner ; the people now, as a people, come to hum- 
ble themselves before God. 

Sermons, preparatory to the Lord's Supper, present a deli- 
cate point. There should be much of tact in them, and of 
sound and precise instruction on the nature and the duty of 
communion. 

We are scarcely required to preach on particular" circum- 
stances, but circumstances, by judicious use, may become ex- 
cellent texts for our sermons. In every case we have a dou- 
ble task, to make the eternal actual, and the actual, so to 
speak, eternal. If it is unfortunate to regard a circumstance 
only as a theme for oratorical display, it will be unhappy also 
not to take advantage of it largely and freely, for the purpose 
of edification. The best of all guides, on these occasions, 
is the simplicity of a Christian heart, and the true point of 
view is secured by prayer. Every one has not the secret of 
making exquisite allusions and delicate turns ; but every one 
finds in the seriousness of the Gospel a true measure, true 
concord, and just caution. 

§ 9. Several Questions relative to Preaching. 

Length of the Sermon. — Length and brevity are relative 
qualities. A sermon which bears one along seems shorter, 



220 LENGTH AND REPETITION OF SERMONS. 

while a sermon in which the development of the idea does 
not advance always appears long. We must not, then, dwell 
much on details, but give the discourse a progressive move- 
ment.* 

But the question may be taken absolutely. 
" Believe me, I speak from experience, and long experience : 
The more you say, the less will be retained. The less you 
say, the more the hearers will be profited. By overcharging 
their memory you destroy it, as we put out lamps by overfill- 
ing them with oil, and drown plants by immoderately water- 
ing them. When a discourse is too long, the end obliterates 
the middle and the beginning. Ordinary preachers are ac- 
ceptable if they be short, and excellent ones weary us when 
they are too long."f 

We must not, in a word, expect too much from the audi- 
tory. In a country congregation, especially, close attention 
can not be sustained for a long time ; but even to them a ser- 
mon too short is an offense. Men have an impression that 
matters of great importance ought not to be merely glanced 
upon. 

Repetition of Senjions ; that is to say, the habit of repro- 
ducing, after a certain time, sermons which have been preach- 
ed. This is the point of view in which this matter should 
be placed : In two ways a sermon may be true — when it ex- 
presses the truth, and when it expresses the preacher him- 
self. A preacher may have nothing to change or retrench in 
a sermon ; he may admit its power, and yet not be able to 
put himself into his sermon a second time, or his sermon 
into himself. I would by no means forbid the repetition of a 
good sermon, which the preacher may perhaps modify-, so as 
to accommodate it, in spirit, to his own actual state, or the 

* Compare here the sermon of Bourdaloue on La Passion, with that 
of Massillon on Consummatum est. 

t Guide de ceux qui annoncent la Parole de Dieu, contenant la Doctrine 
de Saint Francois de Sales, etc. Lyon. 1829, p. 8. 



BEFORE PREACHING. 221 

actual wants of the flock. We must guard against abuse. 
We are not slow to give ourselves great license here, and we 
may proceed to a ridiculous and scandalous excess. 

May a Pastor have one to 'preach for him ? — The interest 
of the flock may sometimes justify the pastor in obtaining an 
aid in preaching. Why refuse to the flock good nourishment 
which may be offered it, or the advantage of hearing the 
same truths from two different men, and under two different 
forms ? Why refuse one's self a repose which is, perhaps, 
necessary, and the advantage of hearing the word, of being 
preached to ? But, on the one hand, the responsibility we 
are under forbids our having men to preach for us in whom 
we have not confidence ; on the other hand, the course and 
continuity of instruction may be impaired by too frequent in- 
terruptions ; and, finally, facility in yielding or offering our 
pulpit would not fail to injure our standing in our parish. 
Harms replies to those who say, But when we are sick ? 
" Do not be sick."^ I would rather say, do not imagine 
yourselves to be sick. 

What should be done before Preaching. — Before preach- 
ing we ought to have an exercise of mortification, remember- 
ing, as St. Cyran says, that we should be especially afraid 
of offending God in the pulpit. f We must possess ourselves 
of the feeling of our unworthiness and our weakness ; like 
the publican, we should smite upon our breast. If it be rob- 
bery to undertake a mission to which we are not called, it is 
so likewise to be occupied in it with unsuitable feelings. A 
carnal confidence, a desire to make a show, is of fatal influ- 
ence on preaching. We must pray, not for ourselves alone, 
or with anxious feeling on our own account, but especially 
for the flock. Prayer for ourselves is good and necessary, but 
we must not in this spend too much time. If we pray too 
little for others, we shall not pray well for ourselves. We 

* Pastoraltheologie, torn, i., p. 41. 

t St. Cyran (Lettre xxxi.), a M. Le Rcbours. 



222 AFTER PREACHING. 

should travail in birth for souls, till Christ be formed within 
them. 

What should be done after the Sermon. — Not less useful 
is an appropriate exercise after preaching than the prepara- 
tion which goes before it. This exercise includes : 

An act of gratitude toward God for giving us the honor of 
preaching the word of life, for our having strength for it, and 
for our having been kept from error and contempt. 

An act of humiliation and of mortification. We ought to 
confess our unworthiness of so great a function as that which 
we have been performing, and to humble ourselves on ac- 
count of it. 

Self-examination and contrition, in view of our sins of the 
tongue and the secret sins of our heart in the pulpit. 

Prayer. After having planted and watered, we should 
ask God to give the increase. 

All these may be abiding in the state of the heart ; but it 
is useful to turn feelings into acts, to give these things a form, 
an utterance.* 

The Preacher should know tvhat is thought of his 
Preaching. — We can not, in this case, apply in every sense 
the words of St. Paul : "It is a small thing for me to be 
judged of you, or of man's judgment." — 1 Cor., iv., 3. 

Theremin thinks that the only absolute test of good preach- 
ing is consciousness of having sought the glory of God.f It 
is not the less important, on this account, to be admonished 
of any errors which may need to be corrected. 

There are indirect or silent admonitions which, if we are 

* See, on this subject, the Guide de ceux qui annoncent la Parole de 
Dieu, p. 217. 

t He maybe satisfied if he has done all he can to please God, and 
none but him. This is not only a good test of the worth of a sermon, 
but the only one which we can depend upon, and we can recognize 
no other. In place of this, we can not accept even the blessing which 
may be connected with a sermon. — Theremin : Die Beredsamkeit eine 
Tugend. 



IMMEDIATE EFFECT. 223 

willing, we shall not fail to receive. There are praises which 
are criticisms, as there also is a criticism which praises and 
a silence which speaks. The air of our flock, their silent re- 
flectiveness, shows us what is passing within them, better 
than visible tokens of emotion. There are many things, how- 
ever, we never can know, or never know well, because too 
much frankness is required to give us the knowledge of them, 
or too much judgment to receive the idea of them. We 
live, for the most part, in so much seclusion, that we shall 
be without admonition if we do not desire it. 

Faites choix d'un censeur solide et salutaire, 
Que la raison conduise et le savoir eclaire, 
Et dont le crayon sur aille d'abord chercher 
L'endroit que Ton sent faible et qu'on veut se cacher,* 
Aimez qu'on vous conseille, et non pas qu'on vous loue.f 

We may find such a monitor not only in a brother in the 
ministry, but in the humblest member of our flock. A sim- 
ple parishioner, a poor woman, a child even, may be such a 
one. We should, without doubt, use caution in this matter, 
and not consult every one who may come in our way ; but, 
with the view of correcting our faults, we must seek to know 
the truth. 

On the immediate Effect, or immediate Impression of 
the Sermon. — As to this, whether good or evil, we are often 
disappointed. Many preachers are astonished to see the small 
effect of discourses from which they expected great success ; 
and vice versa. Many discourses, longly drawn out with 
anguish of soul, composed with poverty of feeling, have been 
richly blest, have produced more effect than others prepared 
with alertness and delight. When alertness, memory, fervor 
itself, have been wanting, the ray which, in passing through 
the lens, has left it cold, has been a burning one beyond it.J 

* Boileau : TJArt Poetique, chant iv. t Ibid., chant i. 

t See, on this subject, an anecdote related by Burk, Pastoraltheo- 
log-ie in Beispiclen, tome i., p. 241. 



2'M FRUITS OF PREACHING. 

We are very often only the occasion of the Divine blessing.* 
These trials are useful, and even necessary ; they keep us 
from appropriating our success to ourselves, and from saying 
to ourselves, I myself have done this. They efface the J, 
always odious, and especially in this case. But we shall fall 
into a great error if we draw from these experiences the 
conclusion that it is indifferent whether we do good or evil. 
They should only teach us that we should be neither discour- 
aged nor inflated. 

On the Fruits of Preaching. — The words "Ye shall 
know them by their fruits" (Matt., vii., 20), are not, without 
qualification, applicable to preachers. The fruits, so far, at 
least, as we can see, are not always exactly proportional to 
zeal and devotedness. 

It is important to remember that the grace of God is sov- 
ereign, lest we be not tempted to regard ourselves as the ef- 
ficient agent of our success. "While we see one who has 
sown less reaping more, apparently, it is useful to accustom 
ourselves to think that God, in this, hath done as he pleased. 

It is also important that we do not prescribe conditions to 
God, by not being willing to sow, unless we have a security 
that we shall reap. Even when we are not permitted to 
reap, we must be content, and give thanks that we have 
sown. The spirit of the ministry, in this respect and in 
many others, is admirably epitomized in John, iv., 36, 37. 
" He that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto 
eternal life ; that both he that soweth and he that reapeth 
may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One 
soweth, and another reapeth." For a stronger reason should 
we patiently wait : It is important that our faith and our 
spirit of prayer should be exercised by waiting. Unfailing 
success, a harvest which should always come according to 
our calculation, would be fatal to us. " Be not discouraged 
by the unprofitableness of your pains and instructions among 
* Burk : Pastoraltheologie, tome i., p. 276. 



DIVERSITY OF FRUITS. 225 

your people : God does not always reward the zeal of his 
ministers by immediate and visible success. Be always 
casting in, cultivating, watering the holy seed ; he who gives 
the increase will not fail to make it productive in his own 
time. We would be recompensed, according to our labors, 
by a sudden and visible fruit ; but God does not permit this, 
lest we should attribute to ourselves and to our feeble powers 
a success which can come only from the work of grace."* 

Besides, we should have no misunderstanding in respect to 
fruits. There may be more when to us there appears to be 
less. "We can not estimate them when they are spread over 
the field, but only when they are stowed in the granary. 
When we see around us the evidences of "a religious revival, 
the Bible abundantly distributed, the word of God zealously 
preached, we may say, Here the wind of the Lord has passed. 
But this is wheat which has but sprung up ; the harvest is 
not yet : The harvest consists in sanctification, charity, the 
whole course of a lowly and pure life. 

A quite superficial impression may produce much noise 
and agitation. A profound impression may express itself 
more by a whisper. We must not rely too much on results 
of the first kind, nor distrust too much the second. Some- 
times, after rising in a mist, the sun pierces the clouds, and 
the day is warm and fine ; at other times the morning is 
bright, and the day cold and damp. 

Without forgetting that "few are chosen," or that "the 
gate is strait, and few enter in thereat," we must make it our 
aim to gain many souls, and not once for all be content with 
a small number of adepts. We must reckon among the 
fruits of good and faithful preaching, not only a decided and 
remarkable awakening of a small number of souls, but a true 
reformation of a large number. In the inventory we must 
include every thing, and overvalue nothing. He who has 

* Massillon (Neuvieme Discours Synodal) : Dc V Avarice dcs Pre- 
ires. 

K 2 



226 SUCCESS OF OPINION. 

established order in his family, in his habits, is already pre- 
pared to enjoy a higher truth. And why should not a min- 
ister be a benefactor of his country, and endeavor to promote 
order and good neighborhood, and give popularity to virtue 
and moral honesty ? 

On the Success of Opinion, or the Popularity of Preach- 
ing. — We may honor a mere flower with the name of fruit, 
and take success of opinion, the prevalence of our views, for 
real success. Now not only is there a great difference be- 
tween these, but the first, which is not necessarily the means 
of the last, is often an insurmountable obstacle in its way. 

It is dangerous to be popular ;* because gratified self-love, 
which is so dear to us, terminates by taking the means for 
the end, and induces us to make concessions, which gradual- 
ly lead us away from the truth. Here we begin to have 
two masters ; and " no man can serve two masters ; for ei- 
ther he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will 
hold to the one and despise the other." — Matt., vi., 24. 

We may deceive ourselves as to our own dispositions and 
motives. We may easily mistake highly-excited feeling for 
a reduplication of our zeal.f We may also easily mistake 
tenderness for unction, and take for charity the glow of be- 
nevolence which we give in exchange for what we receive. 
We may know the just value of this kind of animation and 
excitement by making an experiment on the individual mem- 
bers of our flock : we shall very probably find that we shall 
not have it now. If our interest does not abate — if we are 
as earnest now as we were in the pulpit, we may have con- 
fidence in our zeal ; but if we do not now feel ourselves at 
home, we may know that we have been sustained partly by 
self-love. 

It is useful to a popular preacher to see himself for a while 
deserted, or restored ultimately to his true place : He may 
then learn what he is, and, if he abide this crisis, he will 

* See Omicron, Letters of J. Newton. t See Omicron. 



POPULARITY UNPOPULARITY. 227 

have true unction. Either he will be no more than a mere 
man of office, or his motives will be purified. 

Between popularity and permanent unpopularity there is 
a point below which it is not desirable to sink, but above 
which it is not necessary to rise. And perhaps it will be 
found that, with some exceptions, true success has been 
granted to those who, as regards talent, have received nei- 
ther poverty nor riches, but whom God has nourished with 
food convenient for them. 

Of unpopularity there are two kinds : That of indifference, 
or personal dislike, no one covets ; not so as to the other kind, 
which respects doctrine as its cause : This, from its nature, 
may be made an object of ambition, and it is, I think, dan- 
gerous. I should not so regard it if it were inseparable from 
faithfulness ; for what is necessary can not be dangerous ; 
or, if it be, it is not, in this case, to be taken into considera- 
tion. But let us first be sure that unpopularity for doctrines' 
sake is the necessary consequence of faithfulness. Some so 
think, and, accordingly, they regard unpopularity from this 
cause as a matter of obligation. If it be unavoidable, we 
must let it come, not cause it to come ; and in no case should 
we add to it by our manner of presenting the truth. As far 
as strict integrity will permit, we should, I think, do every 
thing to avoid becoming unpopular, whether in the one way 
or the other, because when once the boundary between pop- 
ular favor and the want of it is passed, self-seeking is as 
probable in the second case as in the first. The mere im- 
pression, or at least the idea too constantly present, that we 
shall be unpopular, will prescribe the measure of our fidelity, 
place us in a false point of view, give acerbity to our dis- 
course, put us in an attitude of hostility,* &c. 

Thus as to the question in the abstract : If we consult 
facts in regard to it, I think many examples prove that faith- 
ful and conscientious preaching may procure to the preacher 
* See Omicron. 



228 UNPOPULARITY. 

the high esteem and even affection of the people.* But, aft- 
er saying this, I add, without hesitation, that the Gospel 
would not be the Gospel if it should flow into the minds of 
men as easily and as pleasantly as the doctrines of natural 
religion or of moral philosophy ; for, until the spirit of God 
opens the heart to the sublime truths of the Gospel, they are 
as bitter to the taste as they are afterward sweet to the in- 
ner man. In evangelical preaching there is always a germ 
of unpopularity, an element of acerbity, which may reveal 
itself even at periods when orthodoxy becomes popular and 
fashionable : The thing may happen. There are periods, 
also, when a general repugnance to the Gospel and a myste- 
rious attraction to it vividly discover themselves together, 
and when every one is already excited in favor of it or exas- 
perated against it. But, in general, the preacher's wisdom 
in this matter adjusts itself to this thought of the apostle : 
"It is a light thing with me to be judged of man's judg- 
ment" (1 Cor., iv., 3) ; and this other no less apostolical 
thought : " The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace." — 
James, iii., 18. " If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, 
live peaceably with all men."f — Rom., xii., 18. 

* See Omicron. 

t Chrysostom has represented with much force the danger of 
permitting ourselves to be preoccupied by the desire of favor or the 
fear of unpopularity.— De Sacerdotio, lib. iii., c. 9, et lib. v., c. 2, 4, 6, 
et 8. 



CATECHISING. 220 



CHAPTER IL 

CATECHISING. 

§ 1. Its Importance and its Object. 

Among our functions, this occupies the first rank. Relig- 
ious instruction, well attended on, renews continually the 
foundation of the Church, and is the most real and valuable 
part of that tradition by which Christianity, not only as a 
doctrine, but also as a life, perpetuates itself from age to 
age. In this tradition, the importance of the sermon, prop- 
erly so called, is the greater in proportion as it is addressed 
to hearers who have been prepared by religious instruction. 

Catechising is useful to those who are its immediate ob- 
jects ; it is useful to the parish, which has need to be, and, 
with its children, is catechised ; it is useful to the pastor 
himself, who, by the duty of adapting religion to the appre- 
hension of children, is incessantly carried back to simplicity 
and the true names of things. On all these accounts, it de- 
serves our earnest attention, which it also demands by its 
difficulty, not the same for all pastors, but always great. 
For it is a work which, besides all the requisites to good 
preaching, includes special requisites of its own. He who 
catechises well will not preach badly ; though he who 
preaches excellently may be a bad catechist. 

It is true that catechising has repulsions which do not per- 
tain to preaching ; but it has attractions, too, which preach- 
ing has not. 

It is also true that it encounters a formidable obstacle in 
the small agreement, or rather in the contrast between the 
teaching which the children receive from the minister, and 
that which they receive fov the greater part of the time from 



230 IMPORTANCE AND OBJECT. 

the world and their own domestic relatives. But as far as 
this obstacle is not absolutely insurmountable, it presents it- 
self to us less as an obstacle than as a motive to give the 
greater care to this part of the pastoral office, and as itself a 
reason for this institution. 

The object of religious instruction is not simply to teach 
children their religion (as if they already possessed it, and it 
was theirs before they had learned it), but to lay in them 
the foundation of a life.* ' 

It is undoubtedly an instruction, taking this word in its 
ordinary sense, and below its etymological meaning ; but it 
is more properly an initiation into the sacred mystery of the 
Christian life. " My little children," says St. Paul, " of whom 
I travail in birth again, until Christ be formed in you." — 
Gal., iv., 19. 

We must not give the preference to the more intelligent 
children, to those who answer best, but in more limited minds 
we shall very often recognize a superiority of heart. Answers 
from the heart, when they are right, are of more value than 
the most remarkable ones from the understanding. A dull, 
vexatious child is perhaps more serious than a bright one 
whom we are fond of caressing. 



§ 2. General characteristics of Catechising — Source and 
Method of religious Teaching. 

Instruction, as instruction, should be as solid and thorough 
as possible ; still, we should aim at spontaneity and life ; and 
therefore there should be in this study nothing of haste or of 
excessive labor (that which too much occupies the mind oft- 
en leaves the heart indolent) ; nothing which should give it 
too much resemblance to an ordinary study ; nothing which 
may leave behind it a disagreeable recollection. Let the 
preacher do what he can to make the child remember, 

* See, for the development of this idea, the Catechetical Course. 



BIBLE AND CATECHISM. 231 

through life, the instructions he gives him. Let the hours of 
teaching be hours of edification ; let the child have the feel- 
ing that the exercise is one in which he is to be active ;* let 
religious teaching have the character of worship :f Action 
and worship, these two characteristics, which ought to be 
interfused into one another, are too often lost sight of. 

Where ought a child to find his religion ? All that he can 
find himself, he must find, but that is little ; all the rest is 
in the Bible. It is the Bible that must teach him.$ Cate- 
chising presupposes the Bible, which it does but digest and 
systematize ; and we say in passing, that its use after the 
Bible has not the same inconveniences with its use before it. 
It would be a sad error to retrench it, but not so great a one 
as to retrench the Bible. 

It is by their mutually interlacing one another that the 
ideas of the Bible live, as do the fibres of a living body : To 
separate them is to destroy their life. Facts may be distinct, 
and the mind may distinguish them ; but in reality, in life, 
nothing is isolated ; and all those individualizations, all those 
personifications, all those entities which appear in Catechisms, 
are fictions ; all the truths here are but different forms or dif- 
ferent applications of the same truth. But there are difficul- 
ties connected with the use of the Bible ; we must not pur- 
sue this path without reflection ; a method is to be arranged. 
It is important to understand how we should read, what we 
should read, where begin, and then adjust every thing care- 
fully to the measure of time we have at command. 

* This feeling is promoted by interrogations which elicit the ex- 
position. 

t See, on this subject, a passage from Madame Necker, in her Edu- 
cation Progressive. " Religion is never prescribed in its most sacreo" 
aspect to the young, if even the teaching of it is not worship," etc 
Livre vi., chap. ii. (this and the following paragraphs). 

% See in the Semeur, tome ix., numero 27 (1 Juillet, 1840), an ar- 
ticle on M. Morell's Sacred History ; and in the Appendix, note K, 
the portion of this article relating to the use of the Catechism. — Edit. 



232 ADVICE TO THE CATECH1ST* 

§ 3. Advice to the Catechist. 

It would be well for the pastor to begin with the youn- 
gest children, and, if he is to have them under his direction 
for many successive years, to proceed leisurely with their in- 
struction : If he is to have them for a short time, he will, I 
apprehend, be obliged to use a Catechism. But whether he 
will be under this necessity (and especially in the case now 
supposed^ or whether the Catechism is to come after the Bi- 
ble, the use of this manual will require special care. It is 
difficult to make a Catechism, and there are but few good 
ones. All things else being equal, I should prefer the most 
elementary — one which, conceived after a Christian plan, and 
reducing all things to a small number of principles, presents 
only the fundamental ideas on each subject, but expressed 
with vigor and feeling. Of all the Catechisms with which I 
am acquainted, I still give my preference to that of Luther. 
By adding to it a collection of passages, we shall have all we 
need.^ 

Whatever mode of catechising may be adopted, whether the 
Bible or some manual be its text, if it be public, it should be 
adapted to the class for which it is specially intended, I mean 
for children. It is very desirable that adults should take in- 
terest in the exercise, and be attendants on it, but we should 
not think ourselves obliged to change its character on their 
account. It would be unfaithfulness in respect to the chil- 
dren, and would be rather a damage than a benefit to the 
adults. Religion is never more penetrating, nor is instruc- 
tion really more profound, than when Christianity is put in 
an infantile point of view. To present it thus, is to make it 
attractive to adults ; the best sermon is not so attractive as a 
catechetic exercise, well managed. 

Whether in public or private, we must prepare ourselves 
well for it, and not say to ourselves, I have only to speak to 
* Make use of good religious tracts. — Real, Fabre. 



ADVICE TO THE CATECHIST. 233 

children ; for in this, as in every thing, maxima debetur pu- 
ero reverential It is certainly no easy matter to speak well 
to children : the talent to do this belongs not to every one. 
Our manner with children should be such as to give exercise 
to their intuitive power, incisory, penetrating ; but then the 
danger is at hand of violating propriety. On this point I 
have pleasure in citing a remarkable confession of Bernard 
Overberg : In his journal he says, " I am again in school this 
morning without sufficient preparation. God ! help me to 
reform in this matter. I am deceived by saying to myself, 
That will do well enough— you know your business ; some- 
thing else is more necessary than preparation for it ; for every 
thing which can be postponed is less important at this mo- 
ment than this duty. The want of preparation involves 
many inconveniences ; it makes teaching dry, confused, loose, 
diffuse ; the children are embarrassed, they can not fix their 
attention, and the lesson becomes uninteresting to them and 
to myself, f 

Preparation for catechising, even public catechising, called 
oratory, % does not include a discourse written and learned by 
heart, much less preparation for private instruction given in 
the pastor's domicile. It is most valuable when it has the 
character of a free and familiar conversation, difficult to be 
retained in a written discourse. But the best preparation 
for it should always be made. In general, if the elements 
of preparation, under its two forms, are not the same, we 
may say they compensate one another. 

Gentleness and patience are the first qualifications ; ridi- 
cule is unpardonable ; hardly less so is embarrassing a child 

* Juvenal : Sat. xiv., v. 47. " We can not be too respectful to a 
child." 

t Notice sur Bernard Overberg, instituteur a VEcole Normale de Miin- 
ster, etc., by J. H. Schubert, professor at Munich ; published in French 
by the Society of Neufchatel,1840, p. 26. 

t In German, Predigtcatechismus. 



234 ADVICE TO THE CATECHIST. 

in the presence of the others. Gentleness should be paternal, 
but manly. Love for children is the sure means of an ami- 
able deportment toward them, and will happily replace an 
affectedly mild and evasive manner. As to familiarity, it 
should certainly not be wanting, but it should be serious : 
Seldom should smiling, never laughing, have place in relig- 
ious instruction. We must be interesting, not amusing. We 
have the way of intermixing anecdotes with our instructions ; 
but they ought to be interspersed with moderation ; to be se- 
rious, and well brought forward. 

The physical comfort of children in the time of the cate- 
chetical exercise is not to be disregarded. 

The exercise should not be continued too long : We should 
especially guard against going beyond bounds in exposition, 
and economize time for questioning, which less fatigues chil- 
dren, because they have' a part in it. We should not say 
every thing in the exposition, but leave it to the questioning 
to complement general ideas by particular ideas. The worse 
way of conducting the business is to allow of digressions 
which exclude from view the principal object, and from 
which neither the children nor the pastor can well return. 
This is the danger of the Socratic method ; an excellent one, 
and also too little in use. In the absolutely Socratic mode, 
the child is too quickly persuaded that it is he who has found 
out every thing, who has said every thing : This will injure 
the pastor's authority, and the child himself, by exciting his 
self-love. And then we can not foresee how far we shall go 
with our familiar detail in giving a simple answer to the 
child's question. We should avoid too much circuity. 

We can not judge of a child with certainty from the an- 
swers he gives in the course of instruction ; we must, toward 
the end of the course, see and examine him by himself: 
They are not the best who know the most. We ought to see 
him also, in order to establish him in the true views of the 
communion to which he is to be admitted. We must ex- 



ADVICE TO THE CATECHIST. 235 

plain the Lord's Supper to the child. In a practical point 
of view, the Lord's Supper is a subject about which many 
prejudices prevail. This is, in part, the fault of the human 
heart. In general, the child has no prejudices, but he is ig- 
norant ; he should well understand what he is about to do ; 
and the confirmation of the baptismal vow should be present- 
ed to him in its true character. The formula used among 
us is very defective ; it says nothing of the Lord's Supper, 
nor of that grace of God which it is so necessary to have in 
thought when so awful a promise is made as is required in 
the formula. This promise should rather be a declaration. 
The formula, then, ought at least to be complete. 

The age at which this confirmation takes place among us* 
seems to be suitable, having regard to the idea of confirming 
the baptismal vow freely, with knowledge of its nature. 
What, besides, is to be had in view as to the question of ad- 
mitting or not admitting, is true knowledge of the mystery 
of piety according to each one's capacity, and especially the 
intelligence of the heart, the religious appreciation of this 
mystery. For the first, we have a measure ; for the second, 
we have no sure means of knowing it. In respect to the last 
point, of course, unless we have decisive evidence that the 
child has dispositions directly contrary to Christianity, we 
ought to admit him. We have a right to adjourn, to refuse 
confirmation ; but it is exorbitant to arrogate to ourselves 
the right of preventing another pastor from granting, if he 
thinks he can do so, what we have refused. We have dis- 
charged our responsibility if we have given our brother 
warning. 

* Sixteen years. 



SECTION THIRD. 

CARE OF SOULS, OR PASTORAL OVERSIGHT. 



CHAPTER I. 

OF THE CAHE OF SOULS IN GENERAL. 

§ 1. Its Relations to Preaching. Ground of the Duty of 
the Care of Souls. 
In treating successively of the office of the preacher and 
that of the pastor, we have not meant to say, most assuredly, 
that preaching was not a pastoral office, and that it did not 
itself include the care of souls. No more would we say that 
the care of souls, properly speaking, is substantially distinct 
from preaching, since it is through the word that the care of 
souls is accomplished, and, under one form or another, preach- 
ing reappears every where.* We may say, in one sense, that 
the preacher is to the pastor what a part is to the whole ; 
but, in making of these two offices two parts, which are 
united to one another in order to make together a whole, we 
easily perceive differences as well as relations between them. 
The preacher instructs ; the pastor trains up (in German, 
erziehet). The one acts on the mass, the other on individu- 
als. The one receives and nourishes those who come ; the 
other seeks those also who do not come. We may further 
add, that the first occupies himself with spiritual interests ; 
the second unites with these, more or less, temporal interests. 
For the pastor, in the full extent of his employment, and as 

* See, in the introduction to the Course on Homiletics, what we have 
said of the word in the Christian religion. 



PASTORAL OVERSIGHT. 23? 

conformed to its idea in the example of Christ, is the bene- 
factor of his people.* If the present state of society leaves 
him less to do, another state may chance to come which will 
invest him anew with his ancient responsibilities. 

But, considering only the moral interests of the parish, he 
is not completely a pastor, that is to say, a father, if he is 
only a preacher. What is the pastoral spirit? A spirit of 
paternity and of solicitude ; for this is the spirit of God him- 
self, as the Bible reveals him to us when it shows to men 
" the Spirit of the Lord ail-gently leading them as one lead- 
eth a beast going down into the valley" (Isaiah, lxiii., 14) ; 
when it promises them that they shall " be borne upon the 
sides and dandled upon the knees" (lxvi., 12) ; and when 
God himself says, " I will seek that which was lost, and 
bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up 
that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was 
sick." — Ezek., xxxiv., 16. If such a charity is beneath us, 
shall such condescension appear to be beneath God ? And 
if he displays it, ought we to exempt ourselves from it ? And 
if this is, indeed, the pastoral spirit, can we think that such 
a spirit would not find preaching alone too narrow a sphere 
for it ? Now this spirit is formally prescribed, in express 
precepts and recommendations, when God says to his proph- 
et, "I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my 
people, that thou mayest know and try their ways" (Jeremiah, 
vi., 27); and when St. Paul recommends to Timothy, "to 
be instant in season, out of season." — 2 Tim., iv., 2. This 
spirit is but the spirit of simple believers, when they are be- 
lievers in truth. Of them we expect that they will be at- 
tentive to one another, and warn one another ; for the Chris- 
tian, as St. Cyran says, is but an imperfect priest, or rather 
a priest commenced, and the priest is a perfect and accom- 
plished Christian. f Besides this, the minister should never 

* " In all their afflictions he was afflicted." — Isaiah, lxiii., 9. 
t Saint Cyran : Letirc a M. Guillebert, chap. xvi. 



238 PASTORAL OVERSIGHT. 

forget that preaching alone does not accomplish his object : 
first, because he is the pastor of more than those who con- 
stantly come to church ; next, because even these have need 
of a more individual and more intimate treatment.^ 

The pastor may not content himself with having been to 
his flock " as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant 
voice, and can play well on an instrument of music" (Ezek., 
xxxiii., 32) ; and, if he does so, he will always have to re- 
proach himself with having " healed the plague of his people 
slightly." — Jer., vi., 14. It is at last only by the care of 
souls tha,t he can realize and identify to himself his flock as 
a flock, and not only as an auditory. " I know my sheep, 
and am known of mine" (John, x., 14) — he only is the good 
Shepherd who can thus speak. This is the ideal ; we must 
be striving to reach it. There is a constant proportion be- 
tween diligence in the care of souls and the life of the parish. 

So much does all this belong to the essence of Christianity, 
that wherever there is a revival of it, the care of souls re- 
gains its importance. 

Let us add that it enhances the beauty and enforces the 
obligation of these functions, that they offer small inducement 
to self-love and imagination. Here may be seen in their 
purity the seriousness, the austerity of the ministry. Public 
preaching is comparatively agreeable and easy : only then 
can we be sure of our vocation to the ministry, when we are 
inwardly drawn and constrained to exercise the care of souls. 
At the present time, especially, we can not but be aware 
that this work has become more difficult. It is difficult, be- 
cause of the extent of the parishes ; it is, above all, difficult, 
because it is not as acceptable as it was once. The flocks 
know our duties well, but their own they know no more ; 

* In Harms' view, public preaching is the least important part of 
the pastoral office, and, in some respects, that which might be spared 
with the least disadvantage. — Pastoraltheologie, tome hi., p. 2. See 
further on. chapter ii. 



ALLEGED OBJECTIONS. 239 

and the precept, " Obey them that have the rule over you" 
^Heb., xiii., 17), is to them without signification ; or, to speak 
more correctly, flocks hardly have an existence any longer. 

This state of things has its own disadvantages, which it is 
superfluous to specify ; but in these same disadvantages it 
finds its advantage. It does not abolish, it rather, in some 
sort, perfects the duty. It makes more than ever necessary 
love — moral authority, of which love is the principal element, 
the indispensable condition — discretion, thoughtfulness. 

To exercise and enforce authority without startling the 
spirit of independence ; here is a problem which simplicity 
and charity alone can solve. Even in their day, the apostles 
had to protest that they did not desire to domineer over the 
Lord's heritage, and that they claimed not the government 
of souls, except as having to give account of them. — Heb., 
xiii., 17. Distrust of pastoral ascendency is natural, and, to 
a certain extent, legitimate. It appears to me a matter for 
congratulation that, in our day, the pastor can come to his 
flock, not as preceded and introduced by a foreign authority, 
but under the sole protection of the pastoralname and the 
holiness of his undertaking : So that the less he is in favor 
under one title, the more welcome will he be under the 
other. 



$ 2. Objections against the Exercise of this Function. 

Against the exercise of the care of souls certain objections 
or excuses arise, which we must pass in review.* 

1. Want of Taste. — But it is not an affair of taste that 
we are concerned with ; it is an affair of duty : an essential 
interest, not a detail of abstract perfection. If taste for this 
part of the ministry is wanting, what kind of taste is there 
for the other parts ? If we have not a call to care for the 
souls of the flock, one by one, we have not a call to the min- 
* Harm? : Pastoraltheologie, tome iii., p. 19. 



240 ALLEGED OBJECTIONS. 

istry. This objection, then, is all-weak or all-powerful — all- 
powerful because of its very weakness. • 

2. Want of Time. — What are we to understand by this ? 
Does it mean that we are to apply ourselves to this duty only 
when we have nothing else to do ? I confess I would rather 
hear the care of souls objected against preaching, than preach- 
ing against the care of souls : I would rather one should say 
to me, My sick, my poor, my scattered sheep require me, 
and forbid me to give my preaching all the attention which 
is desirable. This objection assumes the point in question 
as settled, namely, that we know that the care of souls is 
second in importance ; but who has said this, and how can 
it be proved ? 

3. Not acceptable. — This is possible, but be careful that 
you say this in good earnest. Do not say it after a first and 
indolent effort. Why, you expect doors to open themselves 
to you at your mere approach ! We are, in general, too hasty 
in saying that we are not acceptable. There are many more 
ways of access than we suppose, because there are more ne- 
cessities, more accessible sides, more occasions than we think 
of. Our ministry is not so sure to be repelled when it ex- 
hibits itself under the form of Christian affection. 

After all, it is natural that we should not be acceptable. 
The truth, we all know, is not received with cordiality ; and 
the chief Shepherd, certainly, is not better received by us 
than we are by others ; never will they receive us worse than 
we have received God. And yet he came " to his own."— 
John, i., 11. The servant is not greater than his Lord. Is 
not patience our duty ? Is it not the proof and the exercise 
of our faith ? 



REQUISITE QUALITIES. 241 

$ 3. Conditions or Qualities requisite for the Exercise of 
the Care of Souls. 

The requisites or necessary means are these : 

1 . Health. — The details of the care of souls are neither 
necessarily nor generally dangerous to health, if the parish is 
not too large : A measure of physical force and a good con- 
stitution are, however, necessary. But, in general, he who 
can bear the burden of preaching has sufficient physical abil- 
ity for the care of souls. There may, however, be exceptions, 
and one should examine himself well as to this point when 
he is examining his call to the pastorate, which is not divisi- 
ble in itself. 

2. A certain presence of mind, which ministers possess 
in different degrees, but which may be in a greater or less 
measure acquired, and which very often is no other than 
presence of heart, or what this supplies. 

3. Psychological Knowledge. — Many put logic in the 
place of psychology, which is a great evil. Logic is rectilin- 
ear ; it cuts its way, it traverses moral facts ; psychology is 
sinuous and flexible. The psychology of books is very useful 
as the basis of research, but it is nothing without experience 
and without study of one's self. To know one's self well is 
a means of thus knowing others ; although we should be 
prepared for a strong encounter with moral combinations 
which we have not anticipated, which might have seemed 
impossible, on which account we should study facts in the 
facts themselves, with candor and docility. 

4. Knowledge of the Parish. — The parish is not an ab- 
straction ; it is a concrete fact, it is an individuality, which 
has no absolute resemblance except to itself. It is very true 
that the knowledge of it supposes that of man in general, 
since, if we do not know man in general, we can not know 
him in a certain place and certain time ; it is also true that 
this general man is to be sought out and evolved in man of 

L 



242 REaUISITE QUALITIES 

a certain time and certain place. It is true that there are 
things which, with equal force, interest and engage man, 
though placed in the most different conditions ; and that there 
are things which are important above all others. But it is 
not less true that, if we take no account of what individualizes 
a flock, we are not only likely to be less useful, less agreeable, 
or less welcome, but also to counteract, in many particulars, 
the object we propose to ourselves. As all external circum- 
stances modify the state of the soul, they thereby modify also 
the agency we should exert upon it. "We must, so to speak, 
ask the individual man to introduce us to mankind, at least 
we must not let this individual man obstruct our road. St. 
Paul speaks to all as men ; nevertheless, he was to the Jews 
a Jew, to the Greeks a Greek ; all things to all men. We 
must not strike keys to which no chord corresponds, and leave 
those untouched to which are connected chords of the fullest 
and richest sound. 

The care of souls, then, will not be the same in city and 
country, in a farming and a manufacturing district, in the bo- 
som of a population of simple manners and with refined and 
effeminate people. The pastor should take account of all 
this, as also of geographic, climatic, economic, dietetic, and 
historic circumstances. He should acquaint himself with 
customs, interests, wants, prejudices, opinions. He should 
not limit himself to certain fruitful data developed by cer- 
tain inductions ; he should prefer studying things in the 
things themselves. For between two parishes in the same 
circumstances, both mountainous, both agricultural, both 
rich, or both poor, he should still distinguish. The pastor 
should, above all, understand the religious state of the par- 
ish which is transferred to him. This, and all the particu- 
lars to which we have referred, should be the objects of pro- 
longed and persevering study, dating from the moment of 
entrance on his duties ; but before his entrance he must have 
informed himself of every thing of importance, and certain 



FOR THE CARE OF SOULS. 243 

details which appear small are important. Without the 
knowledge of these, he may wound, may shock, may he mis- 
judged, and may create prejudices, which are very apt to be 
formed, and are very slowly dissipated. He must know the 
good and the bad, the strong as well as the weak, in order to 
know what needs to be developed and what to be repressed. 
"We may hence see how advantageous it may be for the same 
pastor to remain a long time in the same parish. 

5. Care to maintain Relations of Confidence and Affec- 
tion with the Parish. — These he will secure in part by the 
care of souls ; but, with a view to the care of souls, he should 
also in every way create and maintain them. The means 
are positive and negative. We shall not speak here of the 
first, intending to present them hereafter in the aspect, and 
under the name of duties. We shall now speak only of neg- 
ative means, which may be summed up in this : the avoid- 
ing of all useless collision with interest and self-love, the vol- 
untary relinquishment of his right, according to the word of 
the apostle, " Why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be 
defrauded ?" — 1 Cor., vi., 7. The pastor, unquestionably, 
should not encourage evil by weakness on his part, but he 
should not show himself too fond of his own opinion, and ever 
ready to make difficulty. Let him also be careful not to 
enter into obligations too readily, and to keep himself in this 
respect as independent as possible. It is well here to call to 
mind an advantage we have from our institutions, according 
to which the pastor receives nothing from the community, 
and the chance of dependence can scarcely have existence. 



k 4. Three-fold Object of pastoral Oversight. 

We will now resolve the pastoral office into its different 
elements or different acts, regarding it as including not only 
the religious care of families and individuals, but every thing 
except public instruction and the celebration of worship. 



244 MATERIAL AND MORAL INTERESTS 

Pastoral oversight has a three-fold purpose — to promote 
the material, the moral, and the spiritual interests of the 
parish. 

1. Solicitude for material Interests. — If I speak of this 
first, it is not as being the first, but rather as the least of the 
interests which the pastor is concerned with, and that I may 
rise by degrees to the true object of his ministry and to the 
highest exercise of his activity. There are positions in which 
he will have few occasions to interfere, in which, indeed, he 
can not interfere with propriety ; there are others from which 
he can not withhold himself. In every case, we would have 
him regardful of material interests, and attend to them ac- 
cording to the exigency of circumstances.* We have no ref- 
erence here to care for the poor, which is always required 
of the pastor. Let him, in every case, avoid the character 
of intermeddler and intruder, and the air of a man of busi- 
ness. 

2. Solicitude for Moral Interests. — I speak not yet of 
spiritual interests. There are unjust or immoral prejudices, 
errors of education, violations of law and of morality, which 
have passed into customs, usages indecent and pernicious, 
etc. All evil may and should be displaced by Christianity ; 
it will not, however, be enough to preach the cross, although 
this should be done indefatigably, and with reference to the 
removal of evils, as included in the supreme end which is to 
be aimed at in preaching : We shall still have to make bat- 
tle with all these evils — descend upon the stage of natural 
morality, of good sense, and even of worldly interest. It is 
very often the only means, the indispensable condition of suc- 
cess with many persons. Nor do we hereby compromise the 
main object ; we prepare the way for religion : it brings us 
into contact with more persons, and gives us influence over 
a greater number of wills. 

Christianity certainly applies itself to every thing ; it sub- 
* Wild lands tilled by monks — priests civilizers. 



OF THE PARISH. 245 

divides and ramifies itself, so as to reach all abuses, all errors. 
Its great principles may be successfully called into action 
against the subtilest forms of error and of sin ; and we must 
not say that it is an abuse thus to employ it, and that it is 
applying Niagara to turn a mill-wheel. No, it is a matter 
of regret that Christian preaching does not, from time to 
time, conduct Christians as by the hand, from its loftiest 
principles even to their kst results. But that individuals 
may thus apply Christianity to their personal conduct, may 
introduce it entirely into the external and material details of 
their life, they must first have received it, and society suf- 
fers and languishes while it waits for this to be done. Time 
presses ; let us, then, attack evil with all the weapons we 
have at our disposal ; let us apply to society, with Christian 
charity and in a Christian spirit, means which are within 
every one's reach, motives which all accept, and which, after 
all, being legitimate and true, are really a part of the truth. 
Let us never forget that good is self-evidencing ; that evil car- 
ries its condemnation in itself; that Christianity has not come 
to create morality, but to lend it the most irresistible motives, 
without opposing, without accusing of absolute inefricacy, 
those which may be drawn from conscience and the nature 
of things. It is very true that motives of this sort do not pro- 
duce internal renovation, the moral resurrection of man ; 
they accomplish less, but this less is not valueless ; it is 
worth more, assuredly, than that nothing to which we re- 
duce our influence in the esteem of many persons by not urg- 
ing these motives. 

It may not be suitable, it may scarcely be practicable, to 
attack directly every evil which may present itself. Besides 
that it is necessary to give time in order to know evils well, 
we alarm and repel men by this impatience and this indis- 
cretion. It would be of more avail to begin by training up 
in the parish supporters and aids, who, when they shall have 
the same conscience with ourselves as to the nature of evil, 



246 SPIRITUAL INTERESTS THE SCHOOL. 

will take the initiative with us, or perhaps in our placed 
The pastor will pursue an excellent and a Christian policy, 
not to do every thing himself, but to inspire others with the 
desire, and to teach them the art of co-operation. Not only 
has he need of aids in his parish, but he will accomplish the 
more good by not having to do every thing himself. 

3. Solicitude j "or Spiritual Interests. — We so name this 
only to complete the circle of pastoral solicitudes ; for other- 
wise it controls and covers the others. It ought to be the 
soul of all our proceedings and of all our activity. Before 
all, we ought to have in view the spiritual, that is to say, 
eternal good of the members of our parish ; and if it is true 
that a minister, preoccupied with this order of interests, may, 
to a certain extent, lose sight of other interests, it is still more 
evident that a pastor, who is not one in this highest sense 
of the word, is generally little suited to advance the purely 
moral, or even the material well-being of the community. 



$ 5. The School. 

We have as yet only considered the parish in general ; 
we are approaching families and individuals ; but between 
the parish in general and families and individuals, there is 
an institution of which we must speak, namely, the school. 

"We shall in vain attempt to secularize it : It will remain 
attached to the Church or to religion. I speak of the popu- 
lar school, of that in which more or less may be taught, but 
always in so far as the school deserves its name, whatever 
is necessary to the man and the Christian. The school has 
need of religion, and religion has need of the school. The 
Church can not dispense with the school, nor the school with 
the Church. The pastor, for this cause, should interest him- 
self in whatever pertains essentially to popular instruction ; 

* Huffell : Ueber das Wesen und den Beruf des Evangelisch-christ- 
lichen Geistlichen, third edition. Giessen, 1835, tome ii., p. 270. 



THE SCHOOL. 247 

but should connect, or, rather, intermingle religion with ev- 
ery thing. He is never to forget that he is its minister, nor 
lay aside his character as a minister in his co-operation in 
the government of the school. This does not imply that he 
is to limit himself exclusively to religion ; does not mean that 
the minister, as much as any other man, may not concern 
himself with the entire assemblage of interests which are 
involved in this great work of popular instruction. 

I do not mean to intimate that he should take from the 
regent of the school the province of religious instruction ; but 
that, without excluding him, he should teach him how to in- 
struct, and aid him in teaching. 

As a member or president of the • school commissioners, 
the minister may use what influence he has, but not seek to 
domineer or do every thing : He should think it more proper 
and more useful to teach others to do well, and, as the case 
may be, in his turn to learn from others. If circumstances in 
which his relative superiority gives him the preponderance, 
secure to him the ascendency, he should be condescending and 
deferential : He should not make his colleagues instruments 
or mere supporters to himself, but as much as possible col- 
laborators. 

This counsel is applicable to all institutions, to all works, 
in which the pastor may be called to take a principal part. 

We come to the pastor's relations to families and individ- 
uals. 



§ 6. Relations to Families : Pastoral Visits. 

I speak of families, because it is especially through fam- 
ilies that the minister reaches individuals, of whom we are 
to speak hereafter ; and because, again, it is important that 
he should maintain relations to families as families. The 
family, the only group which remains in society below the 
national group — the family, a natural bundle, not compact 



248 PASTORAL VISITS. 

enough, perhaps, but not dissolved, is a most valuable fact 
for the minister, who through it reaches without effort many 
individuals at once, in a manner sufficiently indirect not to 
alarm their liberty, sufficiently direct to act upon them close- 
ly and strongly. I add, with earnestness, that the minister 
should have to do with families, that he may, as much as he 
possibly can, verify, consecrate, confirm this divine institution. 

Nevertheless, individuals are to be reached, since it is only 
the individual who is or is not a Christian ; who receives or 
does not receive the truth. We shall not, therefore, dwell 
long on families ; but before we pass to individuals, not again 
to leave them, we will say something concerning an import- 
ant duty which relates to families and to individuals, and is 
a powerful means of reaching both. I refer to pastoral visits. 

These pastoral visits are neither purely social visits, such 
as well-bred people pay to one another from convenience or 
taste, nor those official visits, domiciliary visits, so to speak, 
which have a somewhat inquisitorial character. They ought 
to be pastoral, and purely pastoral, but familiar and friendly. 
Those to whom they are made should recognize the pastor, but 
should recognize in him the friend and the father. We should 
not be burdensome ; we should leave or put at ease those 
who receive us ; we should exclude every idea of ceremony 
and worldly politeness. 

Tissot has very well shown what pastoral visits in the 
country ought to be, and how a true pastor can make them 
inexpensive to himself, and secure their just result. 

" What fatal influences has not effeminacy in the church- 
man ? I fear not to say that on neither his knowledge nor his 
eloquence does the well-being of the precious deposit which 
is confided to him depend ; it depends on his vigilance, his 
activity. It is not by adorning his sermon in his study-re- 
treat that he enlightens the people ; the sermons he delivers 
in the temple are not his most efficacious sermons. When 
the people hear the holy truths ; when they see the man 



PASTORAL VISITS. 249 

commissioned to announce them, only in the sacred place, 
they do not take them home — they come to make them a 
ceremonious visit on the following Sunday. It is in the midst 
of their field, it is when they are repairing their hedges, it is 
when they are taking repose at the shop-door, it is when the 
severity of the weather keeps them within doors, or when an 
event of some importance occurs among them, that you may 
hope, sacred men, to inculcate the truths that should direct 
that conduct which is to appear one day as a witness for or 
against you. 

" If you would instruct your parishioner, associate the 
truth, his duties, your idea, with his daily labors: Let his 
harvest-field remind him of the conversation you had with 
him when he was sowing ; let the cutting of his second crop 
recall the ideas you unfolded to him when he was mowing his 
hay ; and, in a word, let him find you every where, and let 
him every where love to find you. But how may this be if 
you venture to go nowhere ? How attach him to his duties 
when you seem to be so little concerned to make him love 
them % How shall he not fear his yoke (and this fear is the 
pest of virtue), if you fear so much to touch it ? How not 
hate his condition, if those whom he thinks happy so care- 
fully estrange themselves from it ?■** 

Visits like these have many advantages. They make the 
pastor well acquainted with the moral and material wants 
of the families of his parish ; they knit and tighten friendly 
relations ; they open the way to action on individuals. 

Shall we wait for some particular occasion before we make 
them ? It is well to make them without an occasion, with- 
out any immediate motive, that when a special case shall 
render them particularly necessary, they may not have a 
strange and alarming character. 

It is also well, however, to take advantage of events which 
impress the soul, and dispose the heart to open itself {mol- 
* Essai sur la Vie de Tissot, par Ch. Eynard. Lausanne, 1839, p. 109. 
L 2 



250 PASTORAL VISITS. 

lessima fandi tempora), without affectation, and without 
abusing them. Dread procrastination, or the habit of delay — 
How many pastors, how many Christians, have had cause 
to deplore that, by their repeated delays, they left destinies 
to consummate themselves, of which, for a moment at least, 
they had the power to determine the course. 

As far as possible, all the parishioners should be visited by 
the pastor ; all, at least, should be approached — the friends 
of our ministry, and also its adversaries (as adversaries never 
should be recognized, unless they have given us flagrant 
proofs of enmity), the rich and the poor. If the pastor saw 
only the rich, we might boldly say, without closer examina- 
tion, that his visits are not pastoral, but social ones : If he 
should see only the poor, we ought not to say as we have 
often heard said, that the poor man alone has a pastor ; for, 
indeed, he has not one ; he is not a true pastor who concerns 
himself only with the poor ; that is to say, with him whose 
poverty obliges him, whether he will or no, to accept his pas- 
tors 1 attentions. 



INSTRUCTION OF INDIVIDUALS. 251 



CHAPTER II. 

OF THE CARE OF SOULS APPLIED TO INDIVIDUALS. 

§ 1. Introduction — Division of the Subject. 

It is only an absolute impossibility that can justify the 
pastor in not occupying himself immediately with individuals. 
If he had the leisure to examine thoroughly the situation and 
the wants of each one, and to be his pastor as assiduously as 
he is that of the flock, he ought to do it. Even if each in- 
dividual might be preached to apart, and directed at leisure, 
still preaching to the whole flock should have place ; of this 
we have elsewhere given the reasons ;* but it is not the less, 
on this account, a secondary office for the pastor, and the in- 
struction of individuals remains of the first importance. The 
pastor, then, as much as possible, must address himself to in- 
dividuals. 

Solicitude for individuals is one of the characteristics of the 
New Testament and the new ministry. It is very remark- 
able that the same religion which has founded a Church, and 
has given to this institution a reality which is almost a per- 
sonality, has consecrated the individuality of man as a relig- 
ious being, and put this beyond controversy and beyond at- 
tack. This same religion it is, and this alone, that has re- 
gard only to individual effects, or makes these the last end 
of its efforts. The Gospel is addressed, the preacher is sent, 
not to peoples, to masses, but to all the individuals of which 
the masses or peoples are composed. If the preachers seek 
to act on masses, it is with reference to individuals ; not that 
one individual is of more value than a thousand, which is an 
absurdity, but more than a people, as far as it is a people, 
* See the Introduction to the Course on Homiletics. 



252 INSTRUCTION OF INDIVIDUALS. * 

more than a mass as such. It is, then, with individuals that 
we have to do, less directly in preaching, more immediately 
in the care of souls^ which is without object, without reason 
when the individual loses his reality, or even his importance. 
The minister seeks them in worship or in public, only because 
he is not sure of finding them elsewhere, or because he has 
things to say which he can speak only to assembled indi- 
viduals, or, finally, because the public assembly symbolizes 
equality, the community of interests, the communion of 
hearts. But so far as he may hope to find them elsewhere, 
he is to seek them there. This is the first duty, the first form 
of pastoral ministration ; public preaching is only its comple- 
ment. A friend who, wishing to enjoy a familiar conversa- 
tion with his friend, is contented to see him in a great com- 
pany, and who, having some particular thing to say to him, 
which concerns no one but him, should fuse what was spe- 
cially applicable to him into a general discourse, would be a 
singular friend. Now every one needs instruction suitable 
to himself only, or, at least, he needs to have us appropriate 
to his particular use, his particular circumstances, that gen- 
eral instruction which he may have received in common with 
others, but which very often, for want of such care, is lost to 
him. One after another he passes through different states, 
internal or external, for which general preaching does not 
suffice. The pastor knows this ; if he can deal with this 
soul apart, shall he not do it ? How can he avoid reflecting 
that preaching may have prepared the way for a work in 
this soul — that preaching may complete it if it be once begun, 
but that the decisive moment, either of the life or of the par- 
ticular situation, may call for a more minute and more deli- 
cate work. And, lastly, with what eye will the whole par- 
ish look on a pastor who is a pastor only in the pulpit, who 
does not, so to speak, descend from the pulpit, and who, 
though he may know individuals, wishes only to know the 
mass % As much as pastoral zeal in the care of souls adds 



INTERNAL STATE. 253 

force to preaching, so much does negligence in the pastor en- 
feeble the preacher. 

"We have now indicated certain natural, and, so to speak, 
legal occasions of approaching individuals ; there are others 
which charity induces, and which prudence determines us to 
improve. They are not wanting to him who desires them. 
We recommend no offensive importunity : at the same time, 
it is important that the pastor should assure himself that the 
solicitude which makes him seek occasion is rarely taken 
amiss when it is characterized by frankness and simplicity. 

We now discriminate between individuals. Individuals 
are distinguished from one another by their external circum- 
stances and by their internal state. We shall give our at- 
tention first to circumstances which pertain to the latter. 



$ 2. Internal State. 

The same tendencies reappear at all periods, and we may 
affirm that the smallest flock presents all the shades of truth 
and of error. But the proportion varies, and each period, each 
place has its character, which results from the predominance 
of certain elements. Every where there is some excess or 
some void. Mysticism, antinomianism, legalism, the bondage 
of the letter, by turns prevail. 

However it may be as to this, there are, as concerns the 
internal state, different classes, which in each flock are more 
or less numerous. 

I. The first is that of decidedly pious persons, who are at 
a more or less advanced stage in the evangelical life. We do 
not think that these should be left to themselves, or that ad- 
vice and direction should be refused them, but we insist that 
they ought not to be withdrawn from the discipline of God's 
Spirit. It is important that we do not interfere with — we 
should rather cherish — their sense of their liberty, their re- 



254 CLASSIFICATION OF INDIVIDUALS. 

sponsibility, and their own privileges. The pastor should be- 
ware of permitting himself to be erected into a pope, or even 
into a director of conscience. He should be the aid of liber- 
ty, not its substitute. 

These individuals, who form the choice ones of the flock, 
naturally feel a need of more intimate relations with the 
pastor, and of more thorough and more minute instruction. 
As they know more, they see they have more to learn. It 
would be wrong to have no regard to their case ; and the 
pastor, isolated as he is in his parish, has as much need of 
them as they have of him. But he can not, in this matter, 
satisfy entirely them and himself. On the one hand, the pas- 
tor is pastor of the whole flock, and, according to the precept of 
St. Paul (Acts, xxii., 28), must care for the whole flock ; on 
the other hand, he ought, for the sake of the peace and unity 
of his flock, to be willing to deprive himself, and to deprive 
them also, of some lawful delights. Not without reflectioi 
and caution should he appoint an extra-official service for 
their sakes especially.^ The means of intercourse which 
pastoral visits, in some parishes, offer, should be preferred. 
We must not, however, let our measures for the welfare of 
the multitude carry the appearance of timidity or the fear 
of man, nor should the pastor dissemble his sympathy for 
those who are most zealous in serving God.f 

All pious men are not pious after the same manner : Al- 
most always one element predominates, and some other suf- 
fers. There is always a weak side to be strengthened, with 

* No small offense was given, in one instance within the trans- 
lator's knowledge, by a service intended distinctively for a class sup- 
posed to be in a higher state of religious feeling than the rest of the 
flock. It may be allowable to appoint a service of this description, 
but this instance gave proof that such a service ought not to be ap- 
pointed " without reflection and caution." — Transl. 

t See the Praktische Bemerkungen of Hernhutt, p. 103 ; Gcmein- 
schaft der Erweckten. 



VARIOUS CLASSES OF PIOUS PERSONS. 255 

which we must, in the first place, make ourselves acquaint- 
ed. 

1. To those in whom the principle oi faith prevails we must 
recommend works, by insisting that, whatever changes may 
have taken place in our disposition and our state toward God, 
the law remains law ; and that we may renounce by our 
works (Titus, i., 16) the God whom we profess to know, and 
whom we may know in truth. "We must warn them of the 
snares which our natural man may find in Christian liberty ; 
we must, without taking this liberty away, teach them how to 
use it prudently, and especially not to despise Christians less 
advanced or weak in the faith (Rom., xvi., 2), who dare not 
use their liberty, but whom we ought not, on that account, 
hastily to regard as strangers to the covenant of grace. 

2. To those who, endeavoring to add to their faith virtue 
(2 Pet., i., 5), are in danger of forgetting in this so necessary 
industry that the first act of obedience is faith, and the work, 
par excellence, the work of God (John, vi., 29), is, to believe 
on Him whom He hath sent — we must show, as open at their 
side, that abyss of self-righteousness in which true righteous- 
ness is lost and disappears. 

3. To the scrupulous, the timorous — that the kingdom of 
God does not consist in meat and drink, but in righteousness, 
in peace and in joy, through the Holy Spirit (Rom., xiv., 17) ; 
and that if we must be always proving anew what is accept- 
able to the Lord (Eph., v., 10), this useful exercise of con- 
science and of reason represses anxiety, and should unite 
with itself a feeling of tranquil trust in that God who, hav- 
ing given us the substantial truth, will certainly not permit 
an upright and sincere intention to err very seriously. 

4. To the superstitious, that is to say, to those who, through 
a weakness of imagination, or a sort of spiritual sloth, prefer, 
in inquiring for the will of God, to consult some sign exterior 
to the conscience, which is the internal sign, we must show 
that the benefit of faith is to be found, not in our renouncing 
the natural means of knowing and judging, but in causing 



256 VARIOUS CLASSES OF PIOUS PERSONS. 

us to make a good use of them ; and that to proceed other- 
wise is under a vain appearance of piety, to remit to chance, 
or rather to passion, which authorizes all chances, the labor 
of determining our course. 

In short, the task of the minister as to those pious souls, 
whose various errors consist in the exaggeration of some true 
principle, is to re-establish the equilibrium, by inculcating 
the particular principle which they have lost sight of, either 
in practice or in theory. Certain doctrines, certain points of 
view, to which preaching ordinarily allows but little place, 
regain their importance in the care of souls; and we may 
say that in this sphere no article of truly Christian theology 
ever remains inactive. It is with all individual Christianity 
as it is with the forms of human government ; at first each 
of them corresponds to the general idea of society, then more 
particularly to some one of the conditions of social life ; in 
other words, each has a principle from which it borrows its 
form ; but each also tends to exaggerate the principle on 
which it is founded, as if that principle were the social prin- 
ciple itself. Pure Christianity, which has been in some part 
denned, while pure society has been in no part, has a prin- 
ciple which can not be exaggerated, because it includes all 
principles, that is to say, all the weights and counter weights 
of truth. But with no individual has it this largeness and 
this perfection ; all individual Christianity makes a principle 
to itself, which it incessantly tends to exaggerate, instead of 
tempering it with the opposite principle. To this contem- 
perature must we recall the individual, either by presenting 
Christianity to him as a harmonious whole, or by preaching 
to him the truth which he has forgotten, or of which he 
makes no use. 

The work of grace in some souls conceals itself from all 
the world ; it is concealed from themselves. These souls 
whom God has endued with a priceless docility are as 
mouldable as the water to the form of the vase. They are 



UNCONSCIOUS FAITH. 257 

not "bom Christians, but they become Christians with so little 
effort, that they seem to owe to the beneficence of their na- 
ture what others obtain only at the expense of painful con- 
flicts or of long reflection : So that these latter may say, 
"With a great price bought I this freedom ;" while the oth- 
ers, at least in one sense, may reply, "but I was free-born." 
— Acts, xxii., 28. These souls sometimes betray themselves 
by wondrous signs at the solemn hour of death ; but during 
life no one observed them ; and had any one interrogated 
them, he would have obtained a very imperfect account of 
their faith. It is even possible that the imperfection of their 
theory reveals itself in some measure in imperfection of prac- 
tice, and that they have not said as often and as loudly as 
others, Lord, Lord ! Their faith remains in a state of involu- 
tion and of synthesis. They have thought little of their re- 
ligion because it was not in their nature to think much. We 
can not say that they have laid down their arms ; for, to say 
the truth, they have never resisted. But by slow degrees 
they have conformed themselves to the Christian spirit, it 
has entered into their habits of life ; they feel all that others 
think, and that which others, yet more happy, both think and 
feel ; they renounce from the heart all righteousness, they 
embrace with the heart the mystery of mercy ; their con- 
science has become tender ; without method they practice a 
severe self-discipline ; they know nothing, and they know 
every thing. Seek out these souls ; they are more numerous, 
perhaps, than you suppose. Learn to encourage and cherish 
them : Turn them not out of the course which their nature 
prescribes to them : Force not these instruments of music to 
give forth sounds which they can not give forth ; disturb 
them not with formularies ; deprive them not of their naivete ; 
accept their language — accommodate yours to theirs ; and do 
not undertake to correct their expressions unless required by 
regard to their religious welfare, and only as far as this de- 
mands. 



258 NEW CONVERTS THE AWAKENED. 

II. We pass to the new converts. The fervor of their first- 
love is useful directly by the works it produces : There are 
important ones among them which are peculiar to this pe- 
riod of the spiritual life. This fervor is also useful as a re- 
buke to those who have suffered the gift which was in them 
to be impaired : It is a leaven which God is incessantly cast- 
ing into the mass of the Church. But this period is not ordi- 
narily that of moderation and balance of mind ; and we know 
that the primitive Church interdicted the ministry to new 
converts. It is ordinarily the period of bitter zeal, of a con- 
troversial spirit, of severe judgments : we forget what we 
were the evening before, and we forget it the more, it seems, 
because we have ascended from so great a depth. Though 
we know that we ourselves have been the objects and the 
monuments of so great a patience, we are too ready to say 
impatiently of our neighbor, as the man of the parable, " Cut 
him down ; why cumbereth he the ground !" It is also the 
time when we abuse Christian liberty ; the time of presump- 
tion 1 : "We would preach to and school all the world, and per- 
haps the very person from whom we obtained our first light, 
whence results a danger to this last, also, who may not be 
always disposed to say with Moses, "Would to God all the 
Lord's people were prophets." — Numb., xi., 20. Let all this 
show the pastor that new converts should be treated with 
indulgence and with severity. He must not depress the 
spirit which is in them, nor permit a demon to enter through 
the breach which an angel has made. 

III. Another class is that of the awakened, although very 
often he whom we call awakened is a true convert, and the 
convert, as we term him, is but an awakened person. The 
awakening of a soul is the emotion of interest or inquietude 
which, after long unconcern, it feels toward spiritual things, 
and which differs from emotions of the same kind which it 
may have before felt, in that it has become an habitual and 
dominant state. It is a delicate matter to direct such souls. 



TROUBLED SOULS. 259 

We must concur with the work without precipitating it ; 
we must assist them in walking, but not carry them ; must 
have respect to their individuality ; neither anticipate nor 
require a series of impressions and of states of mind conform- 
ed to a catalogue prepared beforehand ; not desire to give a 
name to each of the states ; and especially not to call for 
the exercise of a principle before the principle has been ob- 
tained ;* not forget that if there are dispositions and actions 
which at any moment of the spiritual life are to be recog- 
nized as bad, there are others the character of which is re- 
vealed gradually, and in proportion as Christian principle be- 
comes more distinct and more manifest ; and that in the 
conduct of souls we have reason to stand in doubt of too easy 
success, or of complaisant sacrifices performed without any 
sense of their necessity, and consequently of a merely arbitrary 
nature. 

IV. There are souls not only awakened, but troubled, in 
whom inquietude, which is the ground of all awakening, has 
the character of anguish and despair. We may even say 
that with many trouble precedes true awakening ; and often 
such souls in whom a strictly spiritual concern does not yet 
exist are induced to seek the pastor by a vague but insup- 
portable anguish, and come to him in the simple thought 
that there are remedies for the soul as physicians have them 

* It may be no less important to guard the awakened against sup- 
posing that they may have an excuse for not having the principle ; 
or that because they are without the principle, the exercise of it, or 
the action in which it expresses itself, is not to be required of them. 
It is often necessary to admonish them that the exercise of the prin- 
ciple is the sum of their duty ; that no right action can be performed 
while they are destitute of the principle ; and that to obtain the prin- 
ciple is what concerns them above all, and before all. " Make the 
tree good and hie fruit good." — Matt., xii., 23. "Make you a new 
heart and a new spirit, for why will ye die'?" — Ezek., xviii., 31. 
"Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns." — Jer., 
iv., 3.— Tr 



260 TROUBLED MINDS. 

for the body, and that they would be better received of no 
one than of him. The pastor may always assure himself 
that this trouble arises from reminiscences that disturb the 
conscience, and from a need of expiation rather felt than dis- 
tinctly recognized. This trouble may not cease, and the 
principle of a new life be formed in such souls unless they 
make a sincere confession* This we must know how to ob- 
tain ; but love will obtain every thing. The more this pro- 
ceeding costs, the greater the reason for it. Often all appears 
easy after the first effort, and the soul, as if released from a 
burden which was crushing it, rises up and walks. 

We may speak here of a class of persons whose soul, in the 
strict sense, is not troubled, but who are more troubled in 
mind by doubts or scruples. This, with some, is the effect 
of a natural skepticism ; with others, of a self-tormenting 
disposition about every thing, or, finally, of an indiscrete cu- 
riosity. Religious movement has exceedingly multiplied the 
demand for counsels and solutions, but it has not proportion- 
ably increased by its own activity the resources of religious 
and moral instruction which we have need of, and which the 
pulpit is expected to afford. 

In our Church there could not be a ministry if the secret 
of confession was not inviolable as it is in the Romish Church : 
Every one who confesses himself to a pastor should have rea- 
son so to regard it ; but when the revelation of a secret is 
the only way of preventing a crime, secrecy on the part of 
the pastor would involve him in the criminality. But in 
this case he must give the person no reason to think that he 
holds himself bound to secrecy, so that he shall have no show 
of occasion to be surprised when the disclosure is made. 

The formal absolution which follows Catholic confession 
rests upon a purely Christian idea. The Catholic Church 
is not mistaken in adding absolution to the external act of 

* " He that covereth his sins shall not prosper ; but whoso con- 
fessed and forsaketh them shall find mercy." — Proverbs, xxviii., 13. 



DEAD ORTHODOXY. 261 

confession, and not to the dispositions and motives indicated in 
the passage we have referred to, Pro v., xxviii., 13. The min- 
ister should make this well understood, as also the absence of 
all merit, and of all intrinsic power of reconciliation in the acts 
of privation and reparation which perhaps should follow con- 
fession, and which in certain cases may be useful and praise- 
worthy. Among these acts, a confession made to others be- 
sides the pastor, especially a confession made to the offended 
person, if there be one, may be of great importance, and some- 
times of real necessity. Sometimes, even, nothing short of a 
public confession can fully satisfy us ; but I doubt whether 
the pastor should ever suggest this idea ; he may, indeed, 
sometimes dissuade his penitent from taking this course ; he 
assumes a great responsibility in confirming him in his pur- 
pose ; nevertheless, he may see himself called to do so. The 
scandal of a whole life may demand, at the moment of death, 
a reparation of this kind. 

Y. We have next to speak of the orthodox, who pervert 
the faith, not objectively, but in its character, by erecting it 
into a work, and disconcerting, defeating, so to speak, the 
purpose of God, while accepting it with the appearance of 
perfect submission. They verify the observation contained 
in these lines : 

" De mal croyant a mecreant 
L'intervalle n'est pas bien grand."* 

The cure of this religious disease is one of the greatest diffi- 
culty ; since here the merit of a most servile strictness may 
be attached to a belief the most evangelical. Some have 
the unhappy art of making Christianity a prop to the lowest 
parts of their nature, and a comfort to them in their licen- 
tiousness and their envy. Strictly, what is wanting here is 
life, and life is to be awakened. The work which seemed to 
be done, has to be begun again ; and it can have no begin- 

* " There is not much difference between one who believes in a 
bad manner and an infidel." — Transl. 



262 FORMALISTS AND LEGALISTS. 

ning but in repentance. The orthodox man must retravel 
with his heart and his conscience all the road that he has 
gone over with his understanding and his imagination, and 
he must believe in one manner what he has for a long time 
been believing in another manner. This dead orthodoxy has 
two shades, which produce their colors under two characters. 
There are orthodox formalists, who must be taught to wor- 
ship in spirit and in truth (John, iv., 12) ; and there are or- 
thodox legalists, who attach themselves to the letter of the 
evangelical precepts, and let their spirit escape from them. 
As to these last, however, we must avoid a hasty judgment, 
since these are slaves of the law who are nowise pharisees, 
that is to say, nowise filled with a sense of merit and self- 
righteousness. We must consider whether, in the servility 
and anxiety of their obedience, they are not still of the num- 
ber of those whom the Gospel has at the same time charac- 
terized and blessed, in the following declarations : " Then 
Jesus beholding him, loved him, and said to him, One thing 
thou lackest : go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast and give 
to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven : And 
come take up the cross and follow me" (Mark, x., 21) ; " And 
the scribe said to him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth ; 
for there is one God, and there is none other but he. And 
to love him with all the heart, and with all the understand- 
ing, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to 
love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt 
offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he an- 
swered discreetly, he said to him, Thou art not far from the 
kingdom of God." In persons of the class to which these 
two belonged, there is the foundation or the germ of a true 
faith.* 

* Was not this foundation or this germ that " one thing" which 
the first of these two " lacked V "What meant his going away "griev 
ed," verse 22 ; and the observations which Jesus made to his disci- 
ples, after he had gone, verses 23, 25"? — Transl. 



CHRISTIANS BY ANTICIPATION. 263 

There are souls in a singular state, to which we have given 
too little thought. They are those which have anticipated, 
I was going to say taken on credit, the grace of the Gospel ; 
or who have appropriated the promises before having felt all 
that grief, that disgust, that fear, that species of death which 
naturally belong to conviction of sin. They believe, they 
bless, they confess, they profess intelligently and sincerely, all 
that is essential to Christian character, but may want, I will 
not say the joy, which is not the habitual disposition of every 
true Christian, but the peace, the love, and, in a word, the 
life of the Christian. We must not confound them with those 
we call orthodox ; they have not their security ; they are at 
the same time in a worse and in a better state ; they have 
not fulfilled all righteousness, but they know that they have 
not. This state, though singular, is no less common ; and 
though it is difficult to disentangle it, since he who is in it 
can scarcely give any account of it, a minister whose experi- 
ence and study of his own interior have rendered him search- 
ing can readily discern it. To apply the remedy is more diffi- 
cult. The degrees, the movements of the spiritual life have 
been inverted. This Christian is one by anticipation, and, 
so to speak, by hypothesis. He is used to the profession and 
the outward joy of the Christianity of the intellect or imag- 
ination. His mouth has been before his heart in saying, 
Lord, Lord ! He is familiar with the words, with the forms, 
with the thoughts of Christianity, without having his soul 
in them, and consequently in a way rather to be without a 
taste for them than to be in union with them. To have a 
taste of life, we must first taste death ; but if we may as- 
cend naturally from death to life, we can not re-descend also 
from life to death, and we can not at once pass at will through 
all the phases of a sorrowful novitiate. This difficulty is one 
of the greatest we have to encounter in the spiritual career, 
and it may put to the proof the patience and the prudence 
of a pastor. One sign by which these persons may be rec- 



264 SKEPTICS. 

ognized is the want of progress and movement in the spir- 
itual life. When the pastor visits them, he may find them 
well disposed, ready to confess their sins, their insufficiency, 
their need of redemption, and the aid of the Holy Spirit ; but 
at each succeeding visit their language will be the same ; 
variety is wanting, because the reality is wanting. If he is 
called to treat a malady of this kind, he ought, on one hand, 
to see that the soul, of which we speak, takes account of its 
own state ; and, on the other, to take care that he does not 
renounce what he has, because of the manner in which he 
obtained it. He should not refrain from speaking to him of 
grace, or withhold the promises which he has accepted, and 
which we do well always to accept. He must not change 
at all the conditions of the covenant of grace, and withdraw 
from this soul the privileges which belong to it ; but he 
should guard it against hypocrisy, against the usual evidences 
which both to itself and others exaggerate the advantage of 
its state ; he must then exhort it to a silent and interior act- 
ivity, to the severe study and application of the law, and to 
whatever disciplines and mortifies the soul, as well as to all 
works which, while they imply charity, develop it without 
danger of inflating the heart ; in a word, silently to imitate 
Jesus Christ. But the shades of this state are exceedingly 
various ; each of them at once requires and indicates partic- 
ular measures ; the important point is (and it is what he had 
specially in view) precisely to distinguish and estimate each 
of them. 

VI. We may form another class out o£ skeptics who are 
neither indifferent nor troubled, neither unbelieving nor be- 
lieving, but who, through an infirmity or an evil disposi- 
tion, can be settled in no point. There are minds naturally 
skeptical which are forever considering, and never come to 
any conclusion. The pastor can hardly hope to be a reformer 
of them ; but, after trying as much as possible to throw argu- 
ments in one of the scales, or, rather, before even trying, he 



THE INDIFFERENT. 265 

should strongly endeavor to make them much more serious, 
who, without being of the same class with the indifferent, 
are perhaps far from giving to religious questions all the in- 
terest they deserve. In order to make a man of this character 
serious and capable of decision, let him be filled with a sense 
of the infinite. The most wavering skeptic does not doubt 
that he has a soul ; and if we can succeed in giving him a 
sense of the reality and the great value of his soul, we have 
put him at the true point of view as to questions of this kind, 
and we have in some sort turned his face to the east. 

There are sincere and unhappy minds who, impressed by 
the spirit of truth and touched by the Gospel, believe in their 
state of sin, abjure all self-righteousness, desiring to be clothed 
only in that of God, which they would be prepared to receive 
if they believed it were offered to them, and yet find them- 
selves detained from entering at the gate, as by a chain which 
seems to be stretched before them by their education, their first 
impressions, too much or too little knowledge, I know not what 
— a skeptical temperament, which shows itself in them, even 
in things the most foreign from religion. It is well when we 
meet with such as these, to remind them that " faith," accord- 
ing to the expression of an enlightened author, " realizes itself 
in the will ; that faith is nothing else than willingness to ac- 
cept a pardon from God, and to renounce the pursuit of all 
other means of salvation ; that doubts which remain in the 
mind do not change it ; that God has not made our salvation 
to depend on the vacillations of our feeble understanding ; 
that it is not the understanding which consents to accept of 
grace ; that it is not the imagination which is moved by it ; 
that it is the will, the only faculty always free, though feeble, 
which receives pardon, turns itself to God, and may even cry, 
' Lord, I believe ; help thou mine unbelief " 

VII. The indifferent are a numerous class, inferior not 
only to the orthodox, but to unbelievers themselves, inasmuch 
as these latter are unbelievers in a positive manner. Their 

M 



266 UNBELIEVERS. 

opinions, however, or rather their want of opinions, give them 
logically an intermediate position.^ 

These are, in general, worldly persons, dissipated men or 
men of business, who have not leisure either to be orthodox or 
to be unbelievers. There are occasions of reaching them in 
the actual state of things. They are not without relations to 
the Church, in the bosom of which they are still retained by 
habit or decency. They meet the pastor in social intercourse 
at the houses of others, or in civil affairs, or in solemn circum- 
stances. They have affections, domestic pleasures and sor- 
rows ; they are men : on the side of humanity they may be 
reached ; all their natural affections have an affinity for relig- 
ion, without which, also, none of them have complete exercise. 
All these fundamental relations call and invite to a higher one. 

When we have obtained the ear of the indifferent, we must 
destroy their security, and make them see that their position 
is not indifferent. We must not hesitate to arouse fear in 
them ; in the majority of cases, it is impossible to connect 
the idea of God, in the mind of an indifferent person, with 
any other sentiment than fear ; but, without neglecting to use 
this means, if we may give vibration to other chords, we 
should make them vibrate. 

VIII. There are many unbelievers that we have full right 
to approach as such. And doubtless we can scarcely engage 
with these without a preliminary step, a conversation, which, 
from the circumstances, will necessarily have the interrogatory 
form. But infidelity has practical maxims as well as forms 
of doctrine ; and the first, in default of the second, may open 
for us a door to religious discussion ; and then infidelity is 
sometimes unwilling openly to declare itself; it more fre- 
quently appears in oblique forms ; allusion or irony contents 
it. We must not start with the idea that every attack, di- 
rect or indirect, should lead to a discussion. Much rather 
should we avoid discussion in the presence of company, if it 
* See a discourse by M. Vinet on Religious Indifference, etc. — Edit. 



UN BELIE VEKS. 267 

be not directly provoked. We must absolutely decline it 
when the attack is only a sarcasm or an abuse. As far as 
possible, we must change the discussion into an appeal to 
conscience and edifying conversation. 

It can not be reasonably required of the pastor to engage 
in formal conflict on the stage of science with professed men 
of learning who draw their weapons against religion from their 
special pursuits. A clergy of such a stamp (so M. Vincent^ 
insists) is an impossibility. Men of a particular class should 
be met by men of a corresponding class. Religion has more 
than one class of ministers, and more than one kind of proofs. 

Infidelity, even with the most ignorant, piques itself on an 
aggressive character; that is to say, on believing something in 
opposition to the beliefs which religion proposes. Each has 
his system, which is often nothing more than a mass of gratui- 
tous and incoherent assertions — a collection of pithy phrases, 
stolen, without understanding them, from conversations and 
books. There is no point of doctrine so abstract or subtile that 
it does not produce itself under some trivial and puerile form 
in the language of these bold spirits of low degree. Contempt 
is never seasonable, never useful ; but we must not give these 
ambitious proverbs of ignorant infidelity honor which they 
do not deserve, and engage in discussions which, though they 
may have a limit and a result with persons of a cultivated 
mind, have often neither result nor limit with narrow and 
ignorant minds. If, nevertheless, it is useful to convince 
them that they have not so stately a system as they imagine, 
it is yet more useful, either in the sequel or at the beginning, 
to transfer them to another stage, namely, that of conscience 
and experience — to awaken in them the wants which they 
have proudly put to sleep, and to show them in all their 
beauty the work and character of God, as revealed by the 
Gospel, and the privileges of a Christian as attested by a 
truly Christian life. 

* Melanges de Religion et de Theologie. 



268 RATIONALISTS— STOICS. 

IX. We have more to do with rationalism, which accepts 
the sacred documents, than with infidelity, which discards 
them. We refer not only to learned rationalism, with which 
a simple pastor can not always contend as a formal polemic, 
but to superficial and second-hand rationalism, which seeks 
to blunt the edge of that evangelical truth by which it is 
wounded. We venture little in assuming that this ration- 
alism has for its ordinary source a repugnance of heart, and 
that it is in the rationalist's conscience that the weapons, in 
contending with him, are to be sought. Without, therefore, 
omitting arguments of another kind, furnished by science, 
and without seeming to shrink from the combat, we must 
make great use of internal evidence, and call conscience to 
bear witness.^ Let us not forget how strong the Scripture 
is, and that it is sufficient in itself: The more we use the 
Scripture in explaining the Scripture, the more shall we be 
struck with the excellence of this method. We can not too 
earnestly remind ministers that the word of God should 
abound in them, so that, having learned it by heart and by 
the heart, the principal passages of the sacred books will re- 
cur to them easily and promptly whenever they shall be 
needed. This knowledge should be not of isolated parts, but 
of parts combined or forming a whole ; and the sense of 
each verse should be presented as penetrated with the sense 
and the savor of all the principal passages that relate to the 
same subject. Such a knowledge of the Bible {talis et tan- 
td) can not be too strongly recommended to all ministers of 
the Gospel (or stewards of the word of God). 

X. Out of the pale of Christian belief there are Stoics, 
more or less religious, whose religion is strictly that of duty, 
even when they seemingly and sincerely desire to make God 
the object of duty. This class of men deserves more atten- 

* We may properly refer here to some works more or less popular 
on the evidences of Christianity : Cellerier, Bogue, Erskine, Whately, 
Jennings, Paley, and Chalmers. 



stoics. 269 

tion, and should be proposed, if not as a model, at least as an 
instructive example, to those Christians who have, perhaps, 
too easily and too quickly received grace before they had well 
felt all the weight of the law. These Stoics are in a great 
error, in which they keep themselves by regarding too con- 
stantly the abuse which is made of Christian liberty. But if 
the first service we should render to them is to show them, 
by our example, that Christian morality is not lax, this serv- 
ice is not the only one. We must explain to them, as we 
have opportunity, the infinite character of Christian morali- 
ty, the awful disproportion between the law regarded in the 
Christian point of view, which is eternal principle, and the 
capacity of man. We must, finally, give them to taste, in the 
midst of their hard labor, the solace which is to be found in 
love, which alone can impart the joy of fulfilling the law, 
and which is only diffused through the heart by the spirit 
of Jesus Christ, and by the assurance of having been the 
object of his love. It is manifest that I do not confound 
these Stoics, these zealots of duty, with those vulgar moral- 
ists who submit themselves not to the, but to their morality, 
and who only accept the law when they have brought it to 
the measure of their carnal and worldly interests. 

Tivo Duties of a Pastor toivard the Members of his Flock 
considered as Sinners, and subject to the Precepts of the 
Moral Law : Reprehe?ision and Direction. 

Reprehension is a duty of the pastor. It is involved in 
every spontaneous performance of duty in the care of souls : 
It is, moreover, imposed upon pastors in the Gospel. Repre- 
hension is difficult at all times and with all persons ; it is yet 
more difficult in the actual state of our flocks. To be sensi- 
ble of this, we need only compare this state with that of the 
primitive Church, or any other in which its essential charac- 
teristics are reproduced. This duty, in a homogeneous and 
closely united community, approaches to that of paternal cor- 



270 REPREHENSION. 

rection, and may have respect either to tendencies or to neg- 
ative facts. In almost all associations for worship of the 
present day, it would be a real inquisition if it should go be- 
yond notorious public facts ; and it would be so, in every case, 
if it extended beyond 'positive facts. 

Absolute non-attendance on public worship is a negative 
fact : May we call those to account who are to be reproached 
with it ? How and under what authority may we approach 
them ? Do we owe them a duty, or do we not ? 

A man who is not of our parish, in the sense in which all 
his acts witness that he is out of the pale of the Church, has 
no claim on our reprehension, and the discipline of this soul 
does not properly enter into our pastoral obligations, if we 
only have respect to our official or conventional position. 
But if the pastor be also a missionary in spirit, or if, apart 
from the pastor, there is no missionary, who will dispute his 
right to show compassion, and even to extend aid, beyond the 
sphere of his pastoral obligations ? Sin is a misfortune — a 
crime is a disaster : Would it be less natural to go to the as- 
sistance of a man thus grievously afflicted than of one whose 
house has been destroyed by an incendiary ? 

Charity and humility, these two inseparable virtues — in- 
separable because essential to one another, give to reprehen- 
sion, appropriateness, proportion, true force.* 

St. Paul (X Tim., v., 1-5) has said, or, at least, intimated 
every thing essential to reprehension as adapted to different 
ages and sexes : By analogy we may discern how it should 
be modified by other distinctions. 

Constituted as our churches are, it is very evident that 
public reprehension can have no place in them ; and it is 
doubtful whether, even under any form of ecclesiastical gov* 
ernment,f it would be expedient or proper. 

* " II ne faut pas casser les vitres, 
Mais il faut bien les nettoyer." 
— See Bengel, Pensees, 27. t See part iv., chap, i., Discipline. 



DIRECTION. 271 

Direction. — If we are called to give a soul judicious ad- 
vice, or to direct it in its way, without departing from or con- 
tradicting the principles of Protestant Christianity : 

Let us beware of parceling out morality — always referring 
particular rules to general principles : Let us preserve the 
mean between that ultra-methodic spirit which would regu- 
late every thing beforehand, and tends gradually to legal bond- 
age and self-righteous pride, and that vague spirituality which 
feeds on feeling, and will hear nothing either of caution or 
means. Let us not repel the idea of an art or method of 
living well, but let us not make it too minute or prescribe 
the same method to all. Bossuet has said that " love knows 
no order, and can not adjust itself to method ; that confusion 
is its order ; that distraction can not come from that source." 
But I see nothing inconsistent with love in the care with 
which one seeks the best means of showing his love to the 
Lord (Eph., v., 10), and the best means of cherishing that 
love. Our weakness obliges us to observe order, and does 
not allow in us an absolute contempt of method. In our di- 
rections, we ought not to restrict ourselves either to the in- 
ternal life or the external life. 

We must have regard to the principle of liberty and re- 
sponsibility, and avoid taking the place of conscience in any 
one ; for there will not be wanting those who would resign 
theirs into our hands. 

If, to refer to a different matter, men must not be borne 
on shoulders so as to deprive them of the use of their limbs 
and their locomotive inclination, no more should Ave exact 
too much from them in a short time. To condense these 
two rules into two words, let us not direct too much, nor urge 
too much. We must teach men to wait, but, at the same 
time, to be active ; not to make those who are confided to our 
care impatient or despondent, but rather to be constantly as- 
sisting them. 

We must not encourage — on the contrary, we must repress 



272 GENERAL COUNSELS. 

the curiosity, the vain words, the religious talkativeness of 
those (souls) who are " ever learning, and never able to come 
to the knowledge of the truth." — 2 Tim., hi., 7. Discourse 
in their case becomes as a vent through which the steam that 
should move the engine makes its escape. 

General Counsels. — We have enumerated the different 
states, both as to doctrine and conduct, in which the mem- 
bers of our flock may be found ; now we will lay aside this 
distinction, and, taking all the classes we have spoken of 
together, give summary directions in relation to the care of 
souls in general. 

Maintain always, and with all persons, a frank and direct 
bearing. 

Rely readily, and as far as possible, on the good faith of 
others. 

Regard ideas more than words, and sentiments more than 
ideas. Sentiment, or affection, is the true moral reality. How 
many heresies of thought correct themselves in the heart. 
And, in return, how much orthodoxy is in the heart heresy. 
Men refuse us the word — they concede to us the thing ; or, 
again, they refuse us the thing in granting us the word. 

When you recognize in an adversary a caviling spirit, and 
perceive that you have to do with a fabricator of difficulties, 
decline a contest in which there is no seriousness, and " an- 
swer not a fool according to his folly." — Prov., xxvi., 4. 

Beware of considering yourself as personally offended by 
opposition, and by what is said, however unjustly, against 
the truths which you preach. 

Appear not to regard as so much blasphemy all rash or in- 
considerate assertions, whether relating to doctrine or morals. 

Persevere without harassing. 

Expect not that arguments will have an identical and ab- 
solute influence on all minds. We do not always know why 
an argument which has no power on one should prove effi- 
cacious on another ; or why an individual who at one time 



GENERAL COUNSELS. 273 

received no impression from the word, should at another 
time be deeply impressed by it.* This is God's secret, and, 
after all our attentions, all our measures, the final result is 
left in his hands. All our hope is from him ; to him let all 
be ascribed. Attend more to the dispositions with which 
you acquit yourselves of your work, than the skill with which 
you used your talents. 

The first of lights, of powers, of preservatives, of defenses, 
is charity. The spirit of the government of souls and of the 
whole pastoral office lies in the sentiment which these words 
of the Master so profoundly express : " Ye will not come to 
me that ye might have life." 

Add to your instructions the weight of your example, well 
knowing that the true mode of communicating moral truth 
is contagion ; that it is only from life that life can proceed ; 
and that, in fact, the decisive arguments for or against Chris- 
tianity are Christians. 

Unite, mix prayer with all your efforts, all your proceed- 
ings, either to ask counsel of God, or to commend souls to 
him, or to keep yourself at the true point of view, and in the 
true understanding of your work. 

In short, such is the solicitude, such the constantly-reap- 
pearing cares which the ministry draws in its train, that we 
must, as did the Jews who rebuilt the Temple, hold a sword 
in one hand while we build with the other. " Besides those 
things that are without," said St. Paul, " that which cometh 

* " It must be acknowledged," says Leibnitz, in a letter to Madame 
de Brinon, " that the human heart has many windings, and that per- 
suasions are according to tastes. We ourselves are not always in 
the same state of mind, and that which strikes us at one time does 
not touch us at another. These are what I call inexplicable reasons. 
There is something in them which is beyond our understanding. It 
often happens that the best proofs in the world do not move us, and 
that what does move us is properly no proof." — (Envres completes de 
Bossuet, Paris et Besan^on, 1828, tome xxxv., p. 132, Lettre I., Sui- 
te Projet de Reunion. 

M 2 



274 EXTERNAL STATE. 

upon me daily, the care of all the Churches. Who is weak, 
and I am not weak ? who is offended, and I burn not ?" — 2 
Cor., xi., 28, 29. "Wherefore, also, we pray always for 
you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, 
and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work 
of faith with power." — 2 Thess., i., 11. 



§ 3. External State. 

The internal state is always modified by the external, and 
this by that ; and this combination, forming, as it does, the 
real and total state of the individual, ought to be carefully 
appreciated ; one of its elements separated from another has 
no complete signification ; but these combinations, which are 
infinitely various, can not be foreseen or provided for ; we are 
obliged to study the external states independently of the in- 
ternal, and reciprocally. 

As to external states, they are naturally of two opposite 
kinds, happy or unhappy ; but pastoral prudence, it is obvi- 
ous, occupies itself almost exclusively with the second. There 
are exceptional and sudden felicities which resemble catas- 
trophes, and may be so regarded. Every event which ex- 
cites in the human heart a lively feeling of joy, may furnish 
the pastor, while expressing congratulations, with an oppor- 
tunity for admonition. And when he comes not to sadden a 
natural joy, but to invite it to seriousness, he has, for the 
most part, a chance of being well received ; there are, how- 
ever, cases of a kind the opposite of those, which make the 
most direct appeal to his sympathy. 

A pastor should see, as far as possible, the afflicted of ev- 
ery class ; but there are many cases in which he can not eas- 
ily gain access to them. In conspicuous misfortunes, what- 
ever they may be, he may and should be present ; fraternal 
affection, shown by the pastor in cases of this kind, is the 
chief office of his ministry, and may, if it be accompanied 



THE SICK. 275 

with all the respect which is due to great misfortunes, gain 
him the confidence of individuals and families. But the 
most frequent and favorable occasion is that of severe sick- 
ness. 

1. The Sick. — Care for the sick is the most sacred of the 
pastor's duties, the touchstone of his vocation for himself and 
others ; and we may say that the manner in which this duty 
is understood and discharged measures the Christian life and 
the Christian spirit of each religious epoch. 

Pastoral visits to the sick are not only useful to them, but 
to those who are about them, and who by this circumstance 
are made more accessible to religious instruction. They are 
useful to the pastor himself, who has no better opportunity 
of acquainting himself with mankind, with life, and with his 
own ministry. Sickness places a man in a situation in which 
we have more hold upon him. A sick man is man in a state 
the most natural and the most true.* 

The success or the zeal only of the pastor, in this part of 
his ministry, is one of the most appropriate means of his be- 
coming popular. Every one is sensible of the merit of this 
work, even without appreciating sufficiently its entire object 
and results. 

Were it only from the repulsiveness inspired by the view 
of sorrow and of death, the pastor doubtless would find it 
necessary to overcome many distastes and many fears. The 
world, as much as it can, contrives to forget that we suffer 
and die. He who seeks to forget this was not made to be a 
pastor. 

As to danger, it is said that " the good Shepherd gives his 
life for the sheep" (John, x., 11), which teaches us that the 
ministry is not a profession, but a virtual martyrdom, and 
that the soldier who voluntarily exposes his life every day on 
the field of battle for the sake of glory or promotion, differs 

* Bridges : The Christian Ministry, p. 78 ; and Massillon : Du Soin 
que les Cures doivent avoir pour lews Malades. 



276 THE SICK. 

from the minister, the true soldier of the Gospel, only in this, 
that the latter not only exposes his life, hut gives it. 

The apostles did not understand this matter differently 
from their Master, and we can not understand it differently 
from the apostles. With St. Paul, we must he prepared to 
say, " I will very gladly spend and be spent for you." — 2 Cor. 
xii., 15. " I now rejoice in my sufferings for you." — Col., i. 
24. " I count not my life dear unto me, that I may finish 
my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received 
of the Lord Jesus." — Acts, xx., 24. He to whom his life is 
dear is hardly a Christian ; how can he he a pastor ? 

The celibacy of the Catholic ministry 7 , all other things be- 
ing equal, cuts some of the chords which attach a man to life. 
But are there none but unmarried men who are called to ex- 
pose and give their life ? And can the marriage of the pas- 
tor remove any of the essential conditions of the pastorate ? 

The danger of attending on the sick in cases of epidemics 
or contagions is generally in inverse proportion to courage 
and devotedness. Danger will flee, if you do not. 

Must we visit the sick when we know that they are well 
prepared for death ? These also have need of us ; probably 
they desire us, and if they have no need of us, we have need 
of them. 

We must be careful to avoid going too late, and for that 
end keep ourselves informed whether there are any sick, by 
means of confidential friends, which every pastor ought to 
have. Even those sick persons must be visited whose con- 
dition gives no cause for serious concern. We shall find a 
great advantage from having accustomed the people to re- 
ceive visits from us when they were in good health ; the first 
visit of a pastor, where this has been neglected, may have a 
somewhat sinister aspect. 

Should the pastor go without being sent for ? Authors an- 
swer differently.* 

* See Huffell : Wesen undBeruf, &c, t. ii., p. 318, troisieme edit. 



THE SICK. 277 

We should say no, if the members of the flock made it a 
positive and constant duty to obey the precept of St. James, 
v., 14. As it is, however, if the pastor should wait to be sent 
for, he would run the risk of not visiting a single sick person. 
We must desire to be called, we must in some way contrive 
to be ; but called or not called, desired or not, we must go. 
There is a way of presenting one's self, and even of insisting on 
a reception, without suggesting the idea of those doleful men 
who thrust themselves upon the dying as upon a prey. And, 
at any rate, whatever prejudice we may have to encounter, 
how can we forbear insisting, when we know in some meas- 
ure how important are seasons of sickness to the life of the 
soul, and that the most active resistance and hardened in- 
difference often conceal the germ of a new life and of sal- 
vation, not to be discovered except by the zeal of a pastor, 
who hopes against hope ? The first visit, we should remem- 
ber, is the most difficult, and often the only difficult one. We 
should know how to be importunate, yet always with gentle- 
ness. We should not force an entrance at once, but return 
again and again, until our affectionate patience prevails, and 
the door opens itself to us. Let us not be sustained and an- 
imated by a desire to discharge our responsibility, a narrow 
and fruitless motive truly ; love alone has no limits, and is 
never weary. 

The pastor should not neglect to learn from the physician 
the sick person's bodily condition, and from his relations and 
friends his moral and religious stated As to this second 
point, however, let not the pastor receive every thing as fact, 
independently of the observations he himself may have occa- 
sion to make. We are often ill-informed, and it might be 
better for us to be without any information. 

According to our idea of the case which presents itself, it 
is well to reflect on the point of view in which we should re- 
gard it, and on the course we should follow ; but a too mi- 
* See Brtdoes : The Christian Ministry, p. 410. 



278 THE SICK. 

nute preparation is likely to be injurious, as in all cases of the 
same kirid that we may meet with. 

Faith and hope are the soul of every pastoral work ; but 
those dispositions which have G-od for their object have noth- 
ing in common with the illusion of feeble minds and lively 
imaginations. Before attempting this difficult and important 
task, we may think we shall exert great influence, or witness 
striking things : especially may we count on a singular sin- 
cerity on the part of a man who sees himself on the border 
of eternity — for we may suppose that one can not dissemble 
who has but a moment to live ; but in all this we are mis- 
taken. "We also imagine that the tragic solemnity of death- 
scenes will always so affect us as to sustain us at the height 
of our function : another mistake. Much sooner than we 
would think, this function ends in discharging itself with in- 
conceivable tranquillity, and even with a wandering mind. 
Nothing avails but truth. Let us obtain a complete idea of 
these difficulties and these dangers ; and as we every day 
put off our armor, let us put ii on every day. Endeavor to 
be alone with the sick. It is very difficult, very uncommon, 
for a sick person to open himself perfectly in the presence of 
others, even if they are his most intimate acquaintances.* 
Always begin with manifestations of affection. Take time 
and pains to show the design of God in sickness ; represent 
it as an extraordinary Sabbath ; assert the grace of God to 
us in preserving to us in sickness the use of our faculties ; 
show this period in life to be of great value and moment. 
Let the pastor place himself and place the sick man in a true 
point of view, as regards his mission, and remove from him 
both the feeling and thought that an intrinsical and a mag- 
ical virtue attaches to the visit of a pastor : From ourselves, 
from each one of us, will our soul be required ; and no one 
can either pray, or repent, or be converted, or love God in 
our place. 

* Huffell : Wesen und Beruf, &c., t. ii., p. 318, troisieme edit. 



THE SICK. 279 

If, shortly after these preliminaries, the sick person would 
open himself, a zealous and intelligent man will have no dif- 
ficulty in preparing the way. But, in beginning, he must not 
be too urgent. We should first accustom the sick to see us 
and hear us. With a lively solicitude, which seeks no con- 
cealment, let us neither give trouble nor feel troubled. In 
every sense our strength is " quietly to wait for the salvation 
of the Lord." — Lam., iii., 26. 

If the sick person keeps every thing to himself, or, what 
comes to the same, if we obtain from him only a complaisant 
assent, let us endeavor to open his heart by prayer, which, at 
the bed of the sick, is preaching par excellence, and in which 
we may say every thing. Nothing can give us a better idea 
of what prayer is, and what it can do, than the admirable 
prayers of Pascal* in asking God to enable him to make a 
good use of sickness. 

We may add to prayer the reading of these passages of the 
Bible, to which nothing has equal power : The song of Hez- 
ekiah (Isaiah, xxxviii.) ; many of the Psalms of supplication 
and thanksgiving ; the recital of some of the cures of Jesus 
Christ ; certain verses of the beautiful fifth chapter of the 
second epistle to the Corinthians : But we may also cite less 
special passages : those words which raise our views to the 
dawn of an endless day, and mark eternity as containing the 
true good of man and the true end of the soul. 

Letf the knowledge which we can obtain respecting the 
sick, from himself and by other means, also direct us in our 
prayers and in the choice of our readings, and let us perse- 
vere in this course. Formal interrogation is scarcely possi- 
ble, promises little good, shuts the heart rather than opens it. 

It may be impossible, however, to pursue this course after 

a certain period of effort and attention, when we have to do 

with a man obstinately blind, hardened, or impenitent ; or 

only if we have reason to be greatly pained at the disposi- 

* Pascal : Pensees, Part II., Article XIX. 



280 THE SICK. 

tions shown by the sick man. I do not think that his silence 
should have this effect upon us ; for silence, even the most 
obstinate, proves nothing. After having used all gentle and 
insinuating methods, we must sometimes frankly demand a 
hearing. 

The true Christian disposition is a calmness which is born 
of trouble. There is no legitimate calmness which trouble 
has not preceded. It is hence ordinarily not simple calmness, 
but joy, more or less sensible — a sweet resulting from bitter- 
ness ; in all cases an humble joy mixed with a profound sense 
of unworthiness. It is a joy mingled with trembling and 
love. With persons thus exercised, we have but to employ 
what may augment compunction in joy, or joy in compunc- 
tion ; not to abate either the one or the other, but to temper 
the one with the other : The general state is not to be changed. 

There is a Christianity which makes salvation to depend 
on the mere assurance of salvation ; so that one is saved 
purely and simply because he believes himself to be. Weigh 
well our words, as we ourselves have weighed them. They 
imply no condemnation of the assurance of salvation ; they 
by no means deny its legitimacy ; they leave to this estate 
its beauty, its truth, its claim as an object of our desires and 
our prayers ; much more, they do not forbid our regarding the 
assurance of salvation as the complement, the coronation, the 
perfection of faith. But the assurance of salvation, considered 
in its principle, is the Spirit of God himself" bearing witness 
with our spirit that we are the children of God." — Rom., 
viii., 16. No other witness is sufficient and available ; and 
to replace this by a simple argument, by a syllogism, is to en- 
croach upon its rights. In other terms, this witness is from 
within ; it is as intimate as irresistible, as the consciousness 
of life : This perfection of faith is of the same nature with 
faith, which is the substance itself, or the appropriation of 
evangelical blessings ; in its commencement as in its con- 
summation, a mysterious grace, of which a purely intellect- 



FALSE ASSURANCE OF SALVATION. 281 

ual faith and a purely logical assurance of salvation is but 
the vain counterfeit. Conscience, however carefully interro- 
gated, can not make one such assurance the pledge and es- 
sence of salvation. We are not saved because we feel sure 
of being saved, but we feel sure of being saved because we 
are saved. We must then invert the terms ; logic itself and 
all analogy demand this ; there is no sphere in which the 
reasoning we oppose can be admitted by any person of good 
sense. "Why should reasoning, which is bad every where else, 
be found good here, and here only ? 

This doctrine, which is thought to be the only means of 
giving all to God and giving nothing to man, has, on the 
contrary, the effect of attaching salvation to a work, and, I 
may say, a servile work, since, in the rigor of the doctrine 
which is advanced, no particle of affection, no truly religious 
element, can enter into this work. This doctrine, which, for 
the most part, is preached by pious men, finds easy access not 
only into humble hearts that confound it with the implicit 
submission of faith, but in souls arid and mercenary, which 
it does not disturb and does not trouble in their interior hab- 
its ; and as it forbids man to look to his feelings even less than 
to his works, in order " to know that he is of the truth, and to 
assure his heart before God" (1 John, iii., 19), it very soon 
annuls, without denying, every part of the Gospel which re- 
lates to the government of the heart and the reformation of 
the life. I speak of some souls — not of all ; for a good many 
of those who derive their assurance from the simple and 
naked acceptance of salvation derive it unknowingly from 
the witness of the Spirit, who by his presence and agency 
within them attests to them with irresistible force that Christ 
abides in them, and that they abide in him. It is painful to 
have to prepare for death the partisans of this false and 
dangerous assurance of salvation, who take away not faith 
precisely, but every thing which forms the true substance 
and true end of faith : It is painful to have to make them 



282 FALSE SECURITY. 

descend from the mountain into the valley, from peace into 
trouble ; and to begin, in their short and disturbed moments 
of sickness, at the very gates of eternity, the entire education 
of a soul contaminated and proud of its error. It is the more 
painful, as we may little hope to see hatched under the burn- 
ing fire of reprehension and alarm one of those conversions 
of heart which ordinarily are wrought so gently, and in cir- 
cumstances so different from that in which the dying find 
themselves. May we, however, hesitate ? And when there 
is but one chance against ten thousand of restoring this man 
to an estate of saving faith, may we be permitted to neglect 
this chance ? And may we not venture to disturb this soul, 
and even to disturb it profoundly, in order to give it true tran- 
quillity instead of false ? 

There is a tranquillity of another kind proceeding from 
the persuasion of self-righteousness in the sick man. And 
what righteousness ? Often it is scarcely more than com- 
mon honesty. Should we expect to find it in persons in- 
structed in the Christianity which they profess ? Nothing 
is more strange, and nothing more common. It is no less 
strange to see persons who call themselves Christians, and 
who think they are, though less persuaded of their own right- 
eousness than the former, taking refuge in a vague idea of 
the mercy of God, who, they think, is too good, and is too 
much occupied with other matters, to observe them so nar- 
rowly. You will encounter philosophers who are accustom- 
ed to thoughts of death, and who are not afraid to die, and 
whose minds, fortified by sophisms more or less learned, seem 
impenetrable to the most pungent arguments. With others, 
finally, in whom an entirely material activity and an exclu- 
sively vulgar way of thinking has destroyed the moral life, 
or whom vice has hardened or imbruted, we can find, in a 
manner, no place for a soul. 

There are a thousand occasions where circumstances would 
seem to dissuade us from making any attempt, as too evidently 



THE TROUBLED SICK. 283 

useless ; but there are a thousand facts which prove that we 
can not define the limit where resources absolutely fail, and 
where all access is closed against the preacher of the Gospel. 
We ought, then, to be urgent, and persevere to the end ; at 
the end, very often, we are waited for, and are accepted. 

God, we know, can, give to a moment the value of an en- 
tire life, as was seen in the case of the thief who was con- 
verted on the cross. And although every thing obliges us 
to think such cases very rare, and that, in general, we should 
place little dependence on death-bed conversions, mere possi- 
bility, in view of extreme peril, makes it our sacred duty to 
labor for the conversion of the sick with all our resources of 
heart and mind. SjJera, quia unus ; time, quia solus.% 

Besides, this impassibility or this security is very often af- 
fected ; it is merely outward, and can not long resist us. Let 
us not be deceived by it. 

Let us not more be deceived by that facility with which 
we sometimes meet. There are persons whom we would 
persuade to be less hasty in yielding to us ; we should think 
them more serious if they offered us more resistance ; and 
the docility shown us through deference, through prejudice, 
is a different thing from the reflecting and voluntary docility 
of a conscience which yields to truth itself. 

We should expect to meet with many troubled souls. 
Among them there are those (and this, perhaps, is the most 
difficult case) who, having until now believed with a faith 
purely intellectual, thought that they were believers, and 
now all at once discover that they were not ; who see noth- 
ing but a great void, where until now the objects of their 
pretended faith were floating like phantoms before them ; 
who, having tampered with all the truths, and employed all 
the words of religion, have no longer any impression from 
them at the moment when it is most important to be able 
to make use of them ; in a word, who at the last hour, in- 

* " Hope, because there is one : fear, because there is but one." 



284 THE TROUBLED SICK. 

stead of a living faith, find only a dead system. They are 
in a condition worse than it would have been if they had 
never known the truth. There are others of these with 
whom remorse is stronger than the promises of grace. Others 
there are, who, without being absolutely destitute of faith, 
and without being afraid of the judgment of God, have at 
death the fear of death itself — a fear for the most part phys- 
ical, greater in some men than in others, and by which be- 
lievers even are sometimes beset. We shall find, in general, 
more natural ease in dying among persons of small culture 
and a laborious life, than with learned men, thinkers, and 
the most highly cultivated people. The poor man passes his 
life but to die ; his poor imagination sees nothing in death 
but nakedness. Finally, there are those whom the con- 
sciousness of some neglected reparation, which it was diffi- 
cult, or perhaps impossible, to make, deeply agitates, or from 
whom some temporal engagement, some domestic care, ban- 
ishes calmness and freedom of mind. 

Trouble at its last stage is despair, a state into which two 
very different classes of persons may fall ; men who have re- 
pelled or neglected the means of salvation, the more they 
were offered to them * and men who, having done the entire 
contrary, and, as it appears to them, every thing necessary to 
assure them of peace, see the whole frame- work of their faith 
crumbling as a fantastic edifice, and they ask themselves, 
whether all that life which they have found in religion, so 
real, so intimate, so serious, has been any thing more than a 
dream, and whether Christianity, which occupies so large a 
place in history, has any reality except in history. There 
are those also, who, without losing in any degree their con- 
viction, find themselves punished by a sudden and deep de- 
spair, for the spiritual pride to which they had subjected 
themselves. This mysterious experience — despair — has more 
than once been suffered by the most humble and most pious 
faith ; but in this case not prolonged, we think, to the last 



SPECIAL DIRECTIONS. 285 

moment. Such persons die in comfort, and the light which 
shines on their last hour removes the scandal which their 
unexpected darkness may have given to the witnesses of their 
death. Without pretending to penetrate the mystery of this 
dispensation, we may observe, that the work of every man's 
conversion consists of the same elements, the proportion of 
which does not vary, but which may be differently distribu- 
ted. In the final reckoning, the addition will not fail to be 
correct, and the total to be rendered. What was not in its 
place at first is found afterward ; bitterness with many comes 
after joy ; the order is inverted, but we must " fulfill all right- 
eousness ;" and he who may have too readily accepted the 
promises, must pay, sooner or later, the same price which was 
assessed to those who could not appropriate pardon to them- 
selves until they had tasted condemnation. It is necessary 
that they should pass three days in the tomb, and descend to 
hell. This is always the price of the true resurrection ; the 
date of payment only varies. 

The duty of disturbing a false peace is not the most diffi- 
cult, but it is the most formidable ; and we must be either 
armed by a severe fanaticism, or by great faith and charity ; 
moment by moment must we be guarded against our own 
weakness, in order to fulfill faithfully a mission so painful ; 
painful indeed, since the success itself is formidable, and we 
must equally fear not producing disturbance and producing 
it. It may be useful to confute error as far as we can, but 
we shall be pre-eminently favored if God enables us to pre- 
sent to the soul the Gospel as a whole, with all its elements 
at once, so that it may not appear in its alarming aspect 
without at the same time assuming its consolatory character, 
nor have this latter aspect without at the same time retain- 
ing the former. The necessity of pardon, and the assurance 
of pardon ; the necessity of repentance, and the blessings con- 
nected with repentance ; salvation, entire, gratuitous, irrevo- 
cable, but the renunciation of all other means of safety ; prayer 



286 SPECIAL DIRECTIONS. 

opening heaven to the sinner, but to the sinner who prays as 
a sinner ; the certainty of aid to every one who perseveres 
in asking it ; these are the ideas which, intercombined al- 
ways, are able to move without irritating, and with which, 
when no one of them is isolated from that which corresponds 
to it, we may be frank, inflexible, and still affecting. Some- 
times, perhaps, we must use a holy violence, and snatch, as 
from the midst of the burning, a brand which seems about 
to be consumed — roughness being now the only form of 
charity ; but the true pastor seldom finds himself placed in 
this stern necessity, and will doubtless exhaust all other 
means before he has recourse to this. And in every case the 
last moments are no time for summoning and threatening ; 
a dying man, if he can hear us, should hear only words full 
of unction, prayers to God full of melting tenderness, suppli- 
cations to himself to be reconciled to God, supplications to 
God to be graciously reconciled to his creature, who is about 
to pass away ; expressions, finally, of a fervent desire and 
a charitable hope. If this soul is softened, if it weeps, if it 
prays, be content, and besides this blessing, do not ask or ex- 
pect joy ; the soul that empties itself, that makes itself noth- 
ing, that renounces itself, that cries to God, the soul that ad- 
dresses itself to him as to an offended father, but still as to a 
father, may not indeed, on this side of the tomb, taste the joy 
of salvation ; but as for you, be assured it will come, and re- 
joice over this weeping soul, for it shall be comforted. 

We pass now to the case in which we find the soul troub- 
led : 

We must not expect that this soul will always confess it- 
self to be troubled, or tell whence its trouble proceeds. We 
shall often be obliged to induce the person to tell us, or even 
ourselves to tell the sick, who may very well experience an 
effect without being able to detect the cause. And often, 
when he may know the cause very well, he can not make 
up his mind to declare it. It is as important, however, as it 



SPECIAL DIRECTIONS. 287 

may be difficult, to obtain the knowledge of it ; for efforts 
directed to any other point than the seat of the disease may 
aggravate the evil, while it fails of the end. Happily, the 
Gospel suffices for every thing, because it corresponds to ev- 
ery thing ; and we can not present it as a whole, and in the 
admirable fusion of the elements which characterize it, with- 
out applying a dressing to the wound, even though we do not 
see it. We may thus comfort ourselves in cases in which 
the trouble shows itself without a distinct appearance of the 
cause ; but we must endeavor to understand the cause, since 
we may then, without foregoing the presentation of the Gos- 
pel as a whole, make a more just, more direct, more personal 
application of it. To be telling how to adapt a remedy to 
each particular case, according to its nature and its cause, is 
to be occupied in an infinite detail : Some authors have made 
the attempt, but it seems to me that the very special direc- 
tions which, at the outset, deprive our impressions of their 
liberty, and our actions of that character of spontaneity and 
inspiration which they ought to have, are more injurious than 
useful. What is important — what, perhaps, is sufficient, is to 
get a good understanding of the patient's state, and of the na- 
ture of his inward feelings : this obtained, the rest is left to 
our evangelical views, our charity, our tact, and the Divine 
Spirit, constrained, if I may say so, by our prayers, to inter- 
vene as an interpreter between the sick man and ourselves. 
The recital of the experience of accomplished ministers on 
this field of sorrow is more useful than a catalogue of a pri- 
ori prescriptions. 

As to the trouble which a soul heretofore indifferent finds 
in the presence of death, it will be difficult for us to judge 
of it : it is the region of mystery. It is but too certain that 
remorse is not repentance, that alarm is not conversion, and 
that the fear of death is not the fear of God. There are, it 
is said, souls who perceive with despair that the principle of 
the spiritual life is extinguished within them, and who with 



288 GENERAL DIRECTIONS. 

terrible evidence are convinced that there remains nothing 
in them that can love or pray : Faith comes to them at the 
last moment, but it is the faith of demons, resplendent with 
brightness, but it is the brightness of lightning. God only 
can know, indeed, that this soul is dead : Let us who do not 
know, struggle, pant with it, fight its battle, unite with it in 
its agony ; let it perceive that there is by its side, in its last 
anguish, a soul that believes, that hopes, and that loves ; that 
our charity is but a reflection, and as a revelation of the char- 
ity of Christ ; that Christ, through us, has become present to 
it; let us give it a hint, a glimpse, a taste of the Divine mer- 
cy ; let it be, as it were, forced to believe in it by seeing the 
reflection of it in us ; let us hope against hope ; let us wres- 
tle with God to the last moment ; let the voice of our prayer, 
let the echo of the words of Christ resound in the dying man's 
ear, even in his dreams — we do not know what may be pass- 
ing in that interior world into which our views do not pene- 
trate, nor by what mystery eternity may hang on one min- 
ute, and salvation on one sigh. We do not know what may 
avail, what one ejaculation of a soul toward God may em- 
brace at the last bound of earthly existence. Then let us 
not cease ; let us pray aloud with the dying man ; let us 
pray for him with a low voice ; let us commit, without ceas- 
ing, the soul to its Creator ; let us be a priest, when we can 
no longer be a preacher. Let the office of intercession, the 
most efficacious of all, precede, accompany, follow all others. 

Without distinguishing cases any further, let us now add 
some general directions regarding the spiritual treatment of 
the sick. 

The first is to do every thing we can, in order to preclude 
or discard the idea that our ministry may carry a man to 
heaven independently of his own will. 

The second is not to require a long work, not to make a 
long discourse, not to engage in intricate reasonings, to ad- 



GENERAL DIRECTIONS. 289 

dress the conscience directly, with frankness, cordiality, and 
authority.* 

A third is to infuse ourselves, without our personality, into 
our exhortations and instructions ; to put ourselves on a level 
with those we seek to console ; to show them in ourselves a 
sinner assisting another sinner ; to relate to them, as far as 
we can, the history of our soul ; and, in a word, to reason 
with them, not from an elevation, but on the same simple 
footing with themselves ; we shall lose nothing of our au- 
thority by so doing. 

We can not too earnestly recommend patience and indul- 
gence : "We must not roughly tread on even the greatest of 
their errors and illusions. We may seem surprised, grieved, 
but never angry : Let us not forget that if, in preaching, as 
a whole, appeals to fear, in men who are in health, and have 
no thought of death as near to them, may have a salutary 
effect, and ought to be employed ; if, even on the bed of death, 
we must awaken in indifferent souls a serious concern for 
their eternity, still, that alarm is sterile, and we can not de- 
pend upon the manifestations which it may produce. t Let 
us never forget that characteristically we are the heralds of 
good news ; that these good news are sufficient for all, be- 
cause they embrace all ; that they chasten while they con- 
sole ; that they are, so to speak, a tonic as well as a tran- 
quilizer to the soul ; lastly, that the charge of the pastor in 
respect to the sick, as toward all, is comprised in these words 
of the prophet : " Comfort ye, comfort ye my people ; speak 
ye comfortably to Jerusalem." — Isaiah, xl., 1, 2. 

Expect much from prayer ; I mean not only from its pow- 
er with God, but from its immediate effect on the sick. We 
may say every thing in prayer ; under the form of prayer we 
may make every thing acceptable ; with it we may make 
hearts the most firmly closed open themselves to us ; tltere is 
a true charm in prayer, and this charm has its effect also 
* Praktische Bemerknngen, p. 79 t Page 83. 

N 



290 GENERAL DIRECTIONS. 

upon us, whom it renders at once more confident, more gen- 
tle, more patient, and whom it puts into an affecting fellow- 
ship with the sick man, whoever he may be, by making God 
present to us both. 

Let us not formally tell the sick man that death is near, 
unless we think it the last and only means of bringing the 
sinner to himself; for otherwise we may have much more 
confidence in the genuineness and solidity of a work which 
has been quietly accomplished, than of one which takes place 
amid trouble caused by the unexpected view of death. We 
should, however, be able to declare to a man, not only as 
man, but as an individual, all his iniquities, and all the dan- 
ger of his ways. Where the sin is notorious, dwell upon that : 
Charity, sometimes, is no longer charity, unless it assumes 
the form of severity. But, I repeat it, the last moment is 
not one for summoning and threatening : When that moment 
comes, we must refer every thing to submissive and tender 
prayer. # 

The communion should not be administered to the sick un- 
less they desire it, and then we should take care that there 
be no superstition mixed with the desire. We should rejoice 
at the expression of a desire, and should hasten to satisfy it 
when we are assured that it is spiritual. f At this juncture, 
however, and even apart from the opportunity which it af- 
fords, we must insist on necessary and practicable repara- 
tions. It is proper that others, if they are so inclined, should 
partake of the communion with the sick person. 

Though it is well, at the beginning, that we should be alone 
with the sick, it is well, on many accounts, to have the mem- 
bers of the family, at least the most intimate of them, pres- 
ent at the interviews which we have with him ; first, to in- 
spire them with confidence in us, and then to profit them 
through our presence. 

As much as possible let us avoid interfering with testa- 
* Koester : Lehrbuch der Pastoralicissenschaft, p. 134. t P. 134, 135. 



FAiMILlES IN AFFLICTION. 291 

mentary dispositions, and have nothing to do in drawing them 
up, without, however, as to this, declining to give advice to 
a disturbed, ill-instructed, or slumbering conscience : Let us 
wisely use our ministry in securing reparations which are 
important to the repose of conscience, and which, apart from 
our agency, perhaps, would not be made. 

Let us not neglect the relations of the sick man after his 
death, nor the sick man during his convalescence.* 

The affliction of a family has often been the means of in- 
troducing into its bosom the truth, together with the preach- 
er who was its interpreter. The survivors as much as the 
dead must be on our thoughts, that we may cultivate the 
field which grief has sown. We must, in many cases, be pre- 
pared for a difficult undertaking. There are idle griefs, as 
there are consolations which are not less so. Afflicted per- 
sons sometimes offer a kind of worship to him whom they la- 
ment, and endeavor to associate us in their panegyrics and 
admiration : They praise in our presence qualities in the de- 
parted which are blamable, or without moral worth ; excuse 
what is inexcusable ; make to themselves maxims, a moral- 
ity, a religion, according to the impulses of their affection, 
and their interest in the soul of the dead : We shall find them 
improvising heresies for his sake, or harassing us with ques- 
tions regarding his state, and soliciting from us a sentence of 
acquittal, even in cases in which it would be most difficult 
to pronounce it, if this were ever allowable. Let us not for- 
get that grief has claims to our respect ; but let us be yet 
more on our guard against forgetting that truth has anterior 
and higher claims to it ; and while we express hope where 
there is room for hope, let us, when necessary, learn how to 
take refuge in our ignorance of the decrees of God and of the 
invisible world. We have no right to condemn any one, but 

* Bridges : The Christian Ministry, p. 424 ; and Burnet : A Dis- 
course of the Pastoral Care. 



292 FAMILIES IN AFFLICTION. 

we may not, on our own responsibility, decree celestial hap- 
piness to any one. 

When grief and regret alone appear in that detachment 
from the visible world, and in those aspirations toward the 
future world, which afflicted persons quite often manifest, it 
is important to correct their thoughts, to give another direc- 
tion to their regards, and to prevent them, if possible, from 
making their grief a religion, and its object a god ; in a word, 
we should teach them to fill with God himself the heaven 
which they would fill with a creature. Let not the minister 
too readily mistake for a conversion, or the beginning of one, 
those emotions of apparent piety with which conscience often 
has nothing to do. 

There are few things more painful or more embarrassing 
than to be required to offer consolation or condolence to in- 
dividuals or families who have not evangelical views. What 
shall we say to them ? Shall we speak to them as they wish ? 
Console them after the manner of the world ? This we can 
not do. Forsake them ? This is still more impossible. 
Preach to them the Gospel ? Yes, preach, or, rather, an- 
nounce it to them. After having, with a generous heart, 
freely sympathized with their griefs, listened to their com- 
plaints, testified a sincere interest, searched through their 
misfortune, of whatever kind it may be, we must make it our 
text, arm ourselves with it, so to speak, against them, make 
them to feel the emptiness of human consolation, and the ne- 
cessity of seeking solid consolation beyond the bounds of time 
and the world, call Jesus Christ openly to the help of their 
misery and ours. We must not premeditate too much what 
we shall say, what we shall do on these occasions. The best 
meditation is their misfortune, the best preparation much 
pity. Let us go to them with tears and with a kind of joy, 
with the joy of a consolation of which the secret is with us : 
Let us go with God himself, and with the assurance that he 
will be with us and with them. This confidence-, this com- 



THE DISEASED IN MIND. 293 

mittal of all to God is the chief strength and the chief light 
in all difficult occurrences. 

II. The Diseased in Mind. — The case of these is not to be 
confounded with that of those troubled souls of whom we 
have spoken before (page 259) : It is principally, if not ex- 
clusively, a case of sickness. As, however, it appears to be 
certain that moral means may be used successfully with a 
moral malady, the cause of which is physical, we think that 
the minister, in concert with the physician, may possibly ef- 
fect something in this case. The influence of the moral on 
the physical is as unquestionable, as conceivable, and proba- 
bly as powerful, as that of the physical on the moral.* 

Hence we should seek to acquaint ourselves well with the 
idea which either occasioned or nourishes the disease ; for it 
is generally improbable that the evil has created itself; and 
perhaps some secret principle of moral evil is what has pro- 
duced and developed it. Let us detect this element, which 
it is not always easy to do, since reserve and dissimulation 
are far from being incompatible with states which seem to 
exclude the power of self-control. 

We can not recommend " answering a fool according to his 
folly" (Prov., xxvi., 5) ; but we may advise against too rude- 
ly dashing away the gloomy imaginations of the patient, and 
we may rest assured that formal reasoning with men in whom 
a fixed idea produces itself with an obstinate and fatal cer- 
tainty will prove ordinarily to be pains worse than lost. Ex- 
pressions of affection, passages of Scripture, prayer when the 
patient will unite in, or, at least, permit it — in short, kindly 

* " Obsta Principiis" — to resist at the outset, in such cases, is of 
very special importance. The torrent of troubled thoughts gains in 
force and in rapidity in proportion as it advances. We should en- 
deavor by all means to arrive in time, to avert and restrain the 
strange pleasure with which a diseased mind gives itself up to gloomy 
thoughts. 



294 THE DISEASED IN MIND. 

entertaining him with what may interest or recreate him 
without injury to our principal object — means such as these 
may be used with more or less success, in the hope that God 
will offer some as yet unknown chance by which we may 
banish that fixed idea, which, born of physical evil, increases 
and prolongs it. The malady itself sometimes affords weap- 
ons for contending with it, which, in prudent and discreet 
hands, may be effectual. 

Sometimes the idea makes the disease : Moral evil becomes 
physical evil — a disease properly so called : Let us ascertain 
if it has done so. If it has, an educated and enlightened pas- 
tor has resources at command, and he may expect more from 
the use of reasoning : But, without excluding this, I would 
unite it with, and subordinate it to, the use of the word of 
God, applied with judgment, and rather for the purpose of 
consolation than of proof. Let us consider that, with persons 
in this state, especially if they are of an active mind, reason- 
ing which does not convince renders obstinate, confirms, in 
some sort, the patient in his error, and increases his mental 
trouble. We must not run this risk. When we meet with 
minds which certain religious ideas have disturbed, either as 
cause or occasion, we ought not to forget that the soundest 
and most fundamental truths may give trouble when they 
are suddenly encountered, or when the state of the man whom 
they exclusively possess favors such a consequence. When 
this kind of mental perturbation is caused by the unexpected 
onset, and, so to speak, by the shock of truth, we may be sure 
that it will not last. In some cases we may regard it, and 
so represent it to the patient himself, as an unavoidable crisis 
— a transition to that definitive peace which ought to be in- 
separable from the truth. We should likewise be reminded, 
as ministers, that, in the complete and faithful dispensation 
of the truth, an economy and a care are to be observed, with- 
out which truth may have many of the effects of error. 

We should be sorry to think that to persons in whom men- 



THE DISEASED IN MIND. 295 

tal disease has become a complete insanity, the spiritual aids 
of the ministry must be useless. With them, especially, rea- 
soning would doubtless be useless, and even dangerous. But 
I think, with Harms, that when discussion is impossible, it 
may be useful to speak. Solitude and the absence of inter- 
course may irritate the disease as much as injudicious contra- 
diction ; and, by inducing him to speak, we may obtain some 
insight into the patient's soul. Let us indulge the hope that, 
in some lucid or less perturbed moment, we may introduce 
into the poor wanderer's spirit some peace, perhaps some light, 
or may excite some favorable emotion which God may regard. 
"Cast thy bread upon the waters, and thou shalt find it." 
The mere names of the heavenly Father and the divine 
Mediator are very powerful, and often have effect when dis- 
course can do nothing. A certain authority, a certain dar- 
ingness is necessary ; we should be conscious of feeling strong : 
to use an expression of Harms, there is a kind of magic in the 
authority which faith imparts.^ 

Some cases may suggest the idea of possession or obsessioji 
as the cause, and I am not sure that this idea should be re- 
pelled ; but under this impression I have known those medi- 
cal means to be neglected which were clearly demanded, and 
which, at the commencement at least, should have been used ; 
and as for formal exorcisms or conjurations, I think they are 
adapted to render disturbed persons entirely mad. Prayer 
and charity are the true conjuration. 

A pastor should not allow himself to be unacquainted with 
the principal works which treat of diseases of the mind. We 
have a right to assume that anthropology has formed a part 
of his general studies. 

III. The Pastor reconciling those who are at Variance. — 

* " Ein Priester der nicht magisch wirkt ist gar kein Priester. und 
ein Prediger der nicht magisch wirkt ist nur ein halber Prediger." — 
Harms : Pastoraltheologie, tome ii., p. 73. 



296 QUARRELS. 

'•Blessed are the peace-makers" (Matt., v., 9) : their work 
certainly belongs to the ministry ; which, in a religious sense, 
is a justice of the peace — a justice of the peace, not arbiter, 
as we may plainly see in Luke, xii., 14 : "Man, who made 
me a judge or a divider over you?" 

Consistently with this, we may, if we have experience, 
tact, and knowledge of business, propose, when necessary, 
measures of reconciliation ; but, for the most part, we should 
especially recommend mutual concession and condescension, 
the extinction of pride and resentment, the exercise of gen- 
erous qualities and religious sentiments, and give ascendency 
to that spirit of sacrifice which is the chief practical charac- 
teristic of the religion of Jesus Christ. 

It is a delicate matter to come in as a mediator in domes- 
tic quarrels, unless we are invited :* It is best, when we can 
do so, to be on the side of each of the contending parties. 
We should fear long narrations by which each party kindles 
anew and feeds his hatred, and which oblige the mediator to 
be a very involuntary instrument and instigator of the quar- 
rel. We should fear, also, the proposing of questions which, 
in a religious and moral point of view, are idle, and which, 
on account of the difficulty of replying to them, are danger- 
ous — a difficulty which, when perceived or manifested, di- 
minishes so much the reconciling authority. Still, while we 
should always avoid taking a side, we must not appear blind 
to evidence or insensible to injustice ; this would also discredit 
us ; we must always recommend humility to him who in any 
matter stands upon his rights and his merits. 

In quarrels between man and wife, we must discard as 
long as possible the idea of a separation ; never suggest it, 
and yet not repel it when the continuance of a forced connec- 
tion would be only the occasion of greater ein and scandal 
than a separation. 

There are confidential communications which it is as dan- 
* Bengel : Pensees, $ 33. 



THE POOR. 297 

gerous and improper as it is painful to receive : Very seldom 
is minute and detailed information of a certain kind neces- 
sary to acquaint the pastor well with his position. Let him 
show a repugnance, and, if necessary, let him positively re- 
fuse to hear them, and people will be sufficiently admonished 
and instructed to keep them to themselves. I except the 
case in which it is important to know every thing, in order 
to prevent or remedy an evil. It is, however, necessary al- 
ways that the pastor respect himself; and charity alone may 
persuade him to descend into the impure region of vice. 

IV. The Poor.— The Sovereign Pastor cared for the poor, 
and has given, as a principal characteristic of his Church, 
compassion for the unfortunate, and care to restore equality 
by charity. The apostles, in partially devolving the care of 
the poor on deacons, did not renounce this interest, with 
which we every where see them engaged ; the deacons, 
moreover, are ministers of religion ; and thus the care of the 
poor also remains a religious ministry. There are now no 
deacons in the special sense, or, rather, every Christian is a 
deacon ; as, however, nothing is regulated by this considera- 
tion, and probably never will be, what for a time has been 
detached from the evangelical ministry rightfully returns to 
it, and the pastor is a deacon. 

So he will always be under all institutions, because his 
ministry is essentially the ministry of compassion, and this 
ministry can not separate itself from the sentiment which is, 
in fact, its foundation : For, while showing itself indifferent 
to the temporal miseries of men, it can not show itself moved 
by their spiritual miseries. Public sentiment always assigns 
this two-fold end to the Christian ministry. 

A pastor is not only called to exercise a ministry of benefi- 
cence, but to propagate and maintain the spirit of beneficence. 
For this reason, he must not only give an example of benefi- 
cence, but he must promote it, and form it in all his parish* 

N 2 



298 THE POOR. 

ioners without distinction of class, and I will even say of for- 
tune. We ought to " bear one another's burdens" (Gal., vi., 
2) ; and this measure, which ought to be the motto and the 
soul of every society, should be exemplified by the pastor be- 
fore every man's door. G-reat, indeed, will be his success if 
he can make the rich receive and obey it ; but he will do 
yet more if he can persuade the poor that it concerns them 
also, and that they have the means of obeying it. Associa- 
tions may be well, and even necessary ; but the pastor must 
be careful that they do not absorb personal activity and re- 
sponsibility : It is needful that " the poor and the rich should 
meet together." — Prov., xxii., 2. 

As to the direct care of the needy, the pastor ought him- 
self to inquire into the situation and resources of each. The 
spirit of detail, the industry of beneficence, is what makes it 
truly useful ; it is also what causes it to be respected ; it 
likewise gives the beneficent man authority with those whom 
he comforts. We must listen with patience to complaints 
and narratives, endure a little ennui, enter into human na- 
ture, and remind ourselves by our own experience that, " in 
relating our sorrows, we often assuage them."* In this 
sphere of activity we meet with so many deceptions, so much 
baseness, we see so much of human nature under a hideous 
aspect, that we are in danger of losing the respect which we 
owe it even in its abject condition. Let the pastor put in 
the first rank of his cares that of elevating the spirit and the 
courage of the poor ; of inducing him to seek his resources in 
himself, of maintaining and guarding the sentiment of his dig- 
nity, of showing him in his poverty all the respect to which 
he has a right, or which he is able to appreciate. 

It is required by charity itself, and even by regard to real 

necessities, that we turn away from necessities which are 

imaginary, or which arise from indolence and selfishness. 

Let us beware that we do not engender poverty by the very 

* Corneille : Polyeuchte, act i., scene 3. 



THE POOR. 299 

pains by which we seek to destroy it. Let us acquaint our- 
selves with those inflexible laws which arise from the nature 
of things in the whole of a population, and let us have them 
before our mind in every particular case, since a particular 
case does remind us of them, and may also tend to make us 
forget them. 

Our concern that no one should doubt our personal benefi- 
cence should not make us connive at an idea which is cred- 
itable in certain parishes, that every case, without discrim- 
ination, is to be undertaken by the pastor or his family. Let 
us know how to keep importunity and indelicacy in order. 

Let us not appear to desire payment for aid which we may 
give under demonstrations of piety ; nor to induce the belief 
that we succor the body only that we may have access to 
the soul. In our first approaches, let us be moderate in our 
religious communications.* 

The good which the pastor himself can do is very small 
compared with that which he can do by means of others. 
He is the delegate of the poor to the rich, and of the rich to 
the poor. The first function is delicate and difficult. He 
must expect refusals, affronts. A sublime trait (that of a 
pastor who, receiving an insult from an impatient rich man, 
said to him, "See, this is for myself, what now have you for 
my poor ?") should often be in the memory of pastors. "We 
should, however, do wrong not to consider the difference of 
situations and antecedent demands. We must know how to 
withdraw in a proper manner ; we must engage the rich in 
the details of the case which we represent to him ; get him 
to make the investigation of this misery his own affair ; ask 

* Beneficence has become an art, the principal rules of which have 
become popular. On this subject there are important works which 
we' must not omit reading ; as, in French, the book on Charity of M. 
Duchatel ; that of M. Naville on the same subject ; Lc Visitcur du 
Pauvres, by M. De Gerando ; in English, The Civil and Charitable 
Economy of Great Cities, by Dr. Chalmers. 



300 THE POOR. 

him for something better than money ; do not urge him too 
earnestly to give ; be content when he gives ; resigned, and 
not out of humor, when he does not give ; but in every case 
discharge this mission with as much of liberty as of modesty 
and delicacy. To be ashamed would be to renounce one of 
the most beautiful parts of the ministry, and to prepare our- 
selves for refusals. 



SPECIAL DECLENSION, ETC. 301 



[CHAPTER III. 

By the Translator. 

Of the Care of Souls in Times of special Declension and 
special Interest in Religion. 

After much reflection, we venture, though tremblingly, 
to add a chapter on this subject. 

In this part of his work the author has not only transcend- 
ed his predecessors, hut, admirably as he had executed the 
other parts, he has, we think, transcended himself also : And 
yet there is here (what doubtless will be regarded, especially 
in this country, as an important omission) no distinct consid- 
eration of the care of souls, as modified justly by the two 
specialities in the state of the flock which we have indica- 
ted. These specialities, though perhaps more observable and 
more prominent under certain modes of pastoral activity, cer- 
tain views of theology, and certain external circumstances, 
than others, have their ground in the nature of man as at 
best imperfectly renewed, the laws of the new life under the 
economy of grace, and the circumstances of trial and exposure 
in which churches find themselves while they remain in this 
world. They are not necessary ; they violate the ideal of 
Christian sanctification, which excludes all change except 
that of increase ; but probably they will continue until the 
triumph of Christianity is complete, and the advance of 
Christianity in the future be as it has been from the begin- 
ning, chiefly, as Edwards has said, by " remarkable commu- 
nications of the Spirit of God at special seasons of mercy." 
Neither in individuals nor in masses does the spiritual life 
remain always in the same state; in both it is alternately 
high and low, and the elevations and depressions are not un- 



302 SPECIAL DECLENSION AND 

frequently extreme and of long continuance, and it would be 
superfluous to prove that the care of souls should vary with 
these variations of their state. "We can not but lament that 
our author's great abilities were not occupied as thoroughly 
with this subject as they were with the others which are in- 
cluded in this part, and which he has treated with such un- 
paralleled success. 

There may be specialities of other kinds in the state of a 
flock as such, requiring corresponding modifications of pastor- 
al activity. The flock may be suffering severely from perse- 
cution, from war, from pestilence, from famine, from unfa- 
vorable changes in trade and business ; or, on the contrary, 
they may be in a state of great temporal prosperity, with 
prospects continually brightening, by which they may be 
placed in severer temptation than any they might find them- 
selves subjected to by external affliction of whatever de- 
gree or kind. It is obvious that in all such cases a demand 
is made on the pastor for some variations in the exercise of 
his ministry, in order to accommodate it suitably to the par- 
ticular circumstances in which he finds himself:^ Much more 
is he required to adapt his ministry as precisely and com- 
pletely as possible to the exigencies of his flock when they 
are in either of the states first mentioned. 

Let us not think that a flock can never find itself in the 
first of these states but by the pastor's fault. The principle 
that there is a constant proportion between the care given 
to souls and the life of the parish,! is not to be taken as im- 
plying that pastoral fidelity in the care of souls will infalli- 
bly and universally secure in the parish a high state of spir- 
itual prosperity. The proportion in respect to the spirituality 
of the parish as a whole may even be inversely as the pas- 
tor's fidelity. " Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein 
most of his mighty works were done, because they repented 
not : Woe unto thee, Chorazin ! woe unto thee, Bethsaida ! 

* See pages 208, 242. t See page 238. 



SPECIAL INTEREST IN RELIGION. SOB 

for if the mighty works which were done in you had been 
done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago 
in sackcloth and ashes." — Matt., xi., 20, 21. " Now thanks 
be unto God, who always causeth us to triumph in Christ, 
and maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in 
every place. For we are unto God a sweet savor of Christ, 
in them that are saved, and in them that perish : To the 
one we are the savor of death unto death ; and to the other 
the savor of life unto life." — 2 Cor., ii., 14-16. In general, 
or in a comprehensive view, the care of souls, and the actual 
state of religion in a parish, and we may say in a country 
or in the Church at large, do very observably and decidedly 
correspond with each other ; but not so as to be inconsistent 
with the directly opposite state of things in particular locali- 
ties and particular circumstances. The sovereignty of divine 
grace has subjected itself to no economy, no laws, by which 
its free exercise or manifestation is forestalled. A pastor, as 
appears from the example of Edwards at Northampton, may 
be rejected by his parish, on account of his inflexible adher- 
ence to what, in the exercise of a pre-eminently spiritual dis- 
position, and after much prayer and reflection, appears to 
his judgment and conscience the path of duty and of wis- 
dom in reference to the mode of exercising the pastoral care. 
It is, therefore, supposable that a parish may be declining 
in religious interest and zeal, while there is no room for the 
suspicion that the cause of this declension is to be found in 
an antecedent one on the part of the pastor, or in any fault 
or any neglect whatever in his ministry. Especially is this 
supposition admissible if there has been a high religious ex- 
citement in the parish, to which the declension has succeed- 
ed. Such an excitement as a permanent state may have been 
incompatible with the laws of the mind ; and if a change to 
a lower state of feeling once have a beginning, it will natu- 
rally proceed in the same direction, unless some new influ- 
ences, some new mode of agency, offer it resistance. The pas- 



304 DECLENSION PROGRESSIVE. 

tor will not be able to prevent declension by the same instru- 
mentality which he has hitherto used, unless he use it with 
a different measure of force, or with modifications, with the 
nature of which he may not be able to acquaint himself. 
And it is possible that no form or manner of activity on his 
part might be sufficient to secure that concurrent action of 
the divine power, without which nothing can hinder the prop- 
er consequence of the advancing declension. The pastor, 
therefore, may be under the sad necessity of witnessing in his 
flock, notwithstanding the utmost efforts that he can make 
to prevent it, a progressive debility of the spiritual life. Fur- 
ther, the despondency which he must naturally suffer on this 
account may be nourished and increased by adverse means 
of a special kind. There is a congeniality between a state 
of spiritual declension and the spirit of error. As the result 
of backsliding in heart, there may be misgiving in not a few 
minds as to some of the severe truths of Christianity ; the 
flock, moreover, may have opportunity to hear teachers of an- 
other Gospel ; perhaps " of their own selves, men may arise 
speaking perverse things."- — Acts, xx., 30. The spirit of the 
world, too, may reveal itself among them in forms unusually 
deceptive, and with peculiar recommendations : Prominent 
members of the flock may become decidedly worldly in their 
spirit and manner of life, may neglect " the assembling of 
themselves together ;" these, and other collateral and inci- 
dental causes, may favor the downward tendency of the re- 
ligious life, and the pastor's opposition to it may be altogether 
unavailing, or even occasion its more rapid and flagrant de- 
velopment. 

It will be well if the pastor retain his true position, keep 
himself at the pastor's true point of view, continue to regard 
his flock in their present state with true pastoral love and 
solicitude, such as the chief Shepherd feels. We may well 
think so when we attend to a word which was spoken to the 
prophet Ezekiel, "Be not thou rebellious like this rebellious 



TRIAL OF THE PASTOR'S CONSTANCY, 305 

house" (chap, ii., 8) ; and to a charge given to another proph- 
et, "Be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee be- 
fore them." — Jer., i., 17. Spiritual decline is a contagion, and 
if the pastor, with this contagion spreading around him, and 
becoming more and more active, may secure his soul against 
it, he must already have a vigorous spiritual health, and be 
careful in using proper means of sustaining and strengthen- 
ing it. He must arm himself with firmness and patience, to 
avoid becoming discouraged and despondent. There is, per- 
haps, no severer trial of constancy than that which a pastor 
is enduring when his faithfulness and zeal in the exercise of 
the ministry are not only fruitless, but as " a savor of death 
unto death" to souls. There is great danger of his modify- 
ing the exercise of the ministry on a wrong principle — a prin- 
ciple which would vary it, so as to make it rather favor than 
restrain prevailing tendencies and tastes. Such a variation 
may seem to be strong]y recommended by the fact, that even 
the former mode of ministration is unacceptable now, and the 
certain conclusion from this fact, that the same mode of min- 
istration in a higher degree, or a different mode, tending more 
intensely to the same results, would be more unacceptable, 
and, of course, unprofitable. The pastor, seeing that the flock 
will not receive food of a certain kind — the kind best adapt- 
ed to strengthen and increase spiritual health, is tempted to 
think himself justifiable, if not judicious, in providing them 
other kind of food — not false doctrine or false morality, but 
truth so softened and tempered by the manner of presenting 
it, or so remotely and indirectly relating to the actual needs 
of the flock, that they taste in it nothing that is unpleasant, 
nothing that seems to be in any disagreement with their 
present inclinations and desires. The pastor who does not 
suffer himself to be taken in this snare, is one most assuredly 
who takes good heed to keep himself in fellowship and com- 
munion with his Lord, by striving for higher attainments in 
the spiritual life, and especially by renewing his vocation as a 



306 WHAT MEANS TO BE USED? 

minister of the Gospel. It may be impossible for him to re- 
main a true pastor in these circumstances, faithful and ap- 
proved of Jesus Christ, a,nd having this witness in himself, 
" Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the 
eyes of my Lord, and my God shall be my strength" (Isaiah, 
xlix., 5), without having recourse to that spiritual exercise 
which has been recommended in a former part of this work ; 
without increased solitude, without much secret prayer, and 
fasting, and searching of heart. 

But assuming that the pastor abides in the true spirit of 
his function, that he and the chief Shepherd are one as to the 
dispositions and views which control him, and that he is still 
a true pastor to his flock — discreet, wise, sincere, diligent, 
faithful in the exercise of the ministry among them — what 
steps, what measures, what means does his pastoral activity 
now embrace ? 

Does he employ direct efforts to make his flock sensible 
of their condition — to apprise them thoroughly that they are 
truly involved in the appalling evils of a state of allowed and 
progressive backsliding ? Doubtless, it is his duty to aim at 
this : It was to a pastor, as the representative of a Church 
— a backsliding Church — that this word was spoken : " Re- 
member, therefore, from whence thou hast fallen, and repent, 
and do the first works ; or else I will come unto thee quick- 
ly." — Rev., ii., 5. There is virtually a charge to every pas- 
tor, in these solemn words, to admonish his Church, if they 
are backsliding from God, of their guilt and their danger: 
But the matter speaks for itself: A pastor may not — a true 
pastor can not contemplate his flock in a state of spiritual 
decline — can not think of them as departing from God, as 
deriving no advantage from his ministry, as converting the 
ordinances of grace, and grace itself, into stumbling-blocks 
and scandals — without feeling himself ready to be offered as 
a sacrifice, if this were the only means, or might be an effect- 
ual means, of giving them a full conviction of the evil of their 



DELAY NECESSARY. 307 

state : a state from which, without this conviction, there is 
no hope of deliverance. They are, therefore, in some way 
to be awakened, to be aroused ; but what is the way which 
should be taken ? 

We do not say that the pastor should not make direct state- 
ments ; direct, pungent, strenuous appeals ; earnest and pa- 
thetic expostulations to his flock, with reference to awakening 
them : But he must take heed as to the time, measure, manner 
of these means, lest they prove worse than ineffectual : Possi- 
bly this flock are in no degree prepared yet for being dealt with 
in this mode : There is, we know, a power of enchantment, 
of infatuation, in a backsliding spirit. The flock may have 
no self-consciousness as to their being in a state so alarming 
as such mode of dealing with them would suppose them to 
be in : They may have the contrary impression : They may 
think that it is better with them now than it was formerly ; 
that while, in their pastor's view, they seem to be " wretched, 
and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked," they judge 
themselves to be in a state demanding high felicitation, " rich, 
and increased with goods, and having need of nothing." — 
Rev., hi., 17. 

Having which persuasion, they may regard their pastor's 
admonitions and remonstrances with a very high degree of 
disfavor, and be tempted to think him, if not really beside 
himself, at least deluded by a blind zeal, a frenzy of fanat- 
icism. It may be necessary to use no little prudence, to be- 
stow no little pains in preparing the way before we can make 
effectual application of this sort of instrumentality to a back- 
slidden flock. Perhaps it may be, first of all, necessary that 
the pastor prepare himself specifically for the task he has to 
perform. His general preparation may indicate to him the 
expediency, the duty of a particular preparation for this very 
work of awakening his flock. A special anointing of the 
Spirit, may be needful before he can become as " a polished 
shaft" in the hand of God for the execution of this work, im- 



308 THE PASTOR SEEKING AIDS. 

parting to him peculiar exercises of heart and mind, peculiar 
sympathies and desires, peculiar love and tenderness toward 
the souls of his flock ; in short, a peculiar intimacy of fel- 
lowship with Christ in reference to the work of saving men. 

Now, after the pastor has in this way made himself ready 
for the work, it may he expedient for him to inquire whether 
there are not some few souls, at least, in his flock, whom he 
may, to a certain extent, associate with himself ; who may 
he prepared, or whom he may be the means of preparing, in 
some measure, as he himself is prepared. The Spirit, in al- 
most every case of declension, " reserves to himself" " a few 
names" at least — a few souls by whom he is not " quenched" 
or "grieved ;" and, perhaps while the pastor is exercised as 
a pastor, these souls may be at the same time exercised in 
their measure with that preparatory work of grace of which 
we have spoken. Let the pastor, then, call to mind partic- 
ular persons in whose piety he has entire confidence ; let him 
offer for each of them a special and earnest prayer ; then let 
him seek them out ; confer with them on the state of the 
flock ; know what their views are, and how they feel in re- 
spect to it ; and if he find in them any fellowship of spirit, 
and any readiness to co-operate with him appropriately in 
measures for awakening the flock out of their sleep, then let 
him consult with them, in a fraternal manner, concerning 
measures, and, if possible, determine as to the first step to be 
taken. ' 

The pastor ought not to omit efforts to obtain the aid of par- 
ticular members of his flock before he begins unusual labors 
openly among them. If, amid the spiritual desolation by 
which his flock appears to him to be overspread, he should 
conclude there are no souls to be found in a state different 
from the rest, perhaps he would misjudge, as the prophet did, 
who supposed himself to be the only man left in Israel on the 
Lord's side, while the Lord had, in fact, reserved seven thou- 
sand to himself. — 1 Kings, xix., 10, 14, 18. And even if his 



MEETING FOR PRAYER. 309 

conclusions were true, he ought, perhaps, to address himself 
first to certain individuals — those in appearance most likely 
to be gained, that, by the concurrence of one or two at least, 
he might strengthen himself for the work before him. 

What should be aimed at first ? That without which all 
else that can be gained would be unavailing, namely, the 
presence of the Spirit as an Awakener. The awakening 
power is with him, not with the pastor and his fellow-help- 
ers, who, by multiplying and enforcing measures apart from 
the Spirit, might vex, and irritate, and divide the flock, or 
might produce certain developments of fanatical zeal among 
them, but never truly awaken them : " On my servants and 
on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spir- 
it." — Acts, ii., 18. 

And the means of obtaining the fulfillment of this prom- 
ise are indicated : "I will yet for this be inquired of by the 
house of Israel to do it for them." — Ezek., xxxvi., 37. " I 
will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants 
of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications." — 
Zech., xii., 10. The instrumentality first of all to be em- 
ployed is that whose direct aim and tendency is upward, not 
abroad upon the flock : Heaven is to be opened before the 
flock can be effectually reached. And by whom is this to 
be done ? Instrumentally by the pastor and the two or three 
others whom he has now joined with himself: The flock, 
generally, can take no part : There may be true Christians, 
many such among them ; but they can not sincerely offer 
prayer for that which they do not desire, and which they 
have no sense of needing : The prayer required must have its 
beginning with the pastor and his few like-minded aids. And 
the first thing which they should do in concert, after speak- 
ing to one another concerning the state of the flock, is to pray 
together concerning it. They should have a meeting for 
prayer by themselves ; for as yet it must not be open to oth- 
ers, who can not come into it in spirit and in truth. Let the 



310 MEETING FOR PRAYER. 

pastor appoint the meeting in his own study, and let the time, 
if not inconvenient, be early in the morning, before any idea 
of business or domestic care has had place in the mind. And 
let the whole hour be spent in prayer — prayer, and nothing 
else, if the spirit be willing enough, and the flesh not too weak. 
Let the brethren pray with the pastor ; and if strength does 
not fail, let them follow one another without rising from 
their knees : If there be no weariness, if the inward ear- 
nestness and importunity be sufficient to sustain the continu- 
ance of supplication to the end of the hour, it will be most 
accordant with the peculiar object and character of the meet- 
ing to have no interruption, and the earnestness will be deep- 
ened and increased by the lengthened exercise of it. 

The next step is another meeting of the same character, 
but larger ; or, rather, the means of securing such a meeting. 
The spirit of the first meeting is, if possible, to be diffused, 
and the means to be used for this end are not different from 
those which were used by the pastor before the first meeting. 
Secrecy is to be observed, not because there is any thing in 
itself improper to be made known, but because the flock are 
not prepared yet to take part in the proceedings, and their 
character and purpose might possibly be evil spoken of: Let 
the pastor, with his brethren, then, confer together a moment 
before they separate, and let each one agree to do what the 
pastor did before the first meeting took place — see some one 
or more of the members of the flock whom he may judge 
most likely to welcome a visit from him, having such an ob- 
ject ; and if, after duly and earnestly conversing with them 
on the state of the flock, they express solicitude, and a read- 
iness to co-operate in measures for improving it, let them be 
informed that a meeting for prayer, with reference to that 
end, is to be held at such a time and place, and invite them 
to attend it. This second meeting should, if possible, take 
place as early as the next morning, at the same hour, and 
perhaps in the same room in which the first was held. And 



BEGINNING OF SENSIBILITY. 311 

after a few words spoken by the pastor from a heart touched 
and filled by the Holy Spirit, respecting the design of the un- 
usual meeting, let it be conducted as the first was ; the pas- 
tor taking the lead, and designating the brethren who are to 
follow him, and the order in which they are to pray, one aft- 
er another. 

The third step, perhaps, should be another and a larger 
meeting, at the same place, and at the same hour of the 
next day. It would not be surprising if the second meeting 
should be many times larger than the first, and it would not 
be without a parallel if it should possess the same character 
with the first in a higher intensity. But even if this should 
be the case, it might not be injudicious to appoint a third 
meeting, to be enlarged in the same way that the first was, 
with the same quietness and secrecy, the same care to pre- 
vent its character from being changed. And if a third meet- 
ing should take place, it might, it probably would be as large 
as the pastor's study could conveniently contain, and be in 
spirit like the first, possibly with a yet deeper tone and in- 
tensity. 

Should such be the result of these movements, here would 
be an incipient awakening ; thus far the state of the flock 
would be a new and a promising state : If the whole flock 
were as this part is, the pastor would doubtless have cause 
for the hope that God was about to " turn again the captiv- 
ity of Zion." — Ps. cxxvi., 1. But a change is now taking 
place in the character of his measures, and he may meet with 
unexpected difficulties if he is not on his guard, if he does 
not "ponder the path of his feet." — Prov., iv., 26. The 
meetings can no longer be held in his study ; the awaken- 
ing has extended too far ; it must show itself openly before 
the face of the whole flock. What is next to be done ? 
Shall these meetings be discontinued ? The very necessity 
for holding them in some other place seems to forbid. Their 
fruitfulness has produced this necessity : They have not ful- 



312 LARGER ATTENDANCE. 

filled their end ; would it not be most unwise to discontinue 
an instrumentality which, proceeding as it has begun, would 
probably diffuse an awakening influence through the whole 
flock ? Perhaps all would be lost which has been secured, 
by discontinuing them. There is danger that they will be 
henceforth without the peculiar influence which has hereto- 
fore belonged to them : They will be open to all who may 
choose to attend them, and some may come to them who par- 
take not of their spirit — some, perhaps, who dislike, and in- 
tend to set themselves against them. Still, the pastor will 
probably have no hesitation, after consulting with the breth- 
ren, and providing against all violations of order, to appoint 
a meeting, which is to be no longer private. And, notwith- 
standing all difficulties and perils, he may, perhaps, secure 
to it the character of the others, if not improve it and ad- 
vance its usefulness, by exercising prudence in the following 
particulars : 1. In having the place of the meeting as little 
public as possible, preferring some retired room to either the 
temple or the chapel. 2. In the manner of announcing the 
meeting : Let him state very explicitly the object of the 
meeting ; let him speak frankly of the former meetings, and 
tell why this one has become necessary ; and while he dis- 
courages no one's attendance, let him express the desire that 
those who shall come to it come with a determination to 
unite with the pastor and the others who may be present in 
seeking the end of its appointment, earnestly and in every 
appropriate method. 3. In the manner of conducting the 
meeting : Let there be at first, and perhaps for several times 
afterward, no material difference between this and the man- 
ner in which the meetings in his study were conducted : let 
all kneel down in prayer, after reading a few passages of 
Scripture, and continue kneeling and praying for the entire 
hour ; and let the pastor designate such brethren to lead in 
prayer, one after another, as he may judge best prepared by 
the work of the Spirit in their hearts, to offer supplications 



HUMILIATION. 313 

for the object of the meeting. For two reasons should this 
manner be adhered to, at least for a time longer or shorter : 
(1) Because it is the manner which the deepest earnestness, 
absorption of the soul in desire for the object, would prefer ; 
and, (2) Because this manner will tend to secure the proper 
character to the meetings, by offering no temptation to at- 
tendance on them on the part of persons whose hearts are 
not yet prepared to enter fully into the spirit of such meetings. 

With all who attend these meetings, earnestly and intense- 
ly desiring that they may be instrumental in extending and 
increasing the awakening power — the pastor and all the oth- 
ers, it should, it must indeed, be the point of chief concern 
that they possess distinctively, and in as high a degree as 
possible, the character which is adapted, and which is neces- 
sary to secure the end. This character chiefly consists of a 
profound sense of the unutterable importance and desirableness 
of a thorough awakening in the flock, a sense involving some- 
times a sympathy with St. Paul in his self-renouncing desire 
for the salvation of his brethren, his kinsmen after the flesh, 
as expressed in Rom., ix., 3, together with a sense of absolute 
dependence on God's sovereign grace for this result, and a spir- 
it of importunity in prayer like that of Jacob (Gen., xxxii., 
24-27) and that of the woman of Canaan (Matt., xv„ 22-28). 
When meetings for prayer have this character, they can 
hardly fail to be followed by the best kind of results. 

But if the Holy Spirit design to make much use of those who 
attend these meetings as vehicles of his influence in awakening 
the flock and in subsequent works, he will probably, while im- 
parting to them these peculiar impressions and movements of 
soul, or, perhaps, before doing this to any considerable extent, 
bring them into another state of which they had no thought 
when the meetings commenced. Both the pastor and those 
who are with him may have an introverted action of mind 
on their own internal states, of a very peculiar character, in- 
termingled with their thoughts and solicitudes about the state 





314 SELF-SACRIFICE ON THE PART OF THE PASTOR. 

of the flock. They may find themselves engaged in a most 
intense examination of their personal piety, the foundations of 
their hopes toward God, questioning themselves most closely 
and severely as to the real nature of their religious affections 
and life. The Spirit may lead them to a most earnest re- 
newal of their vocation as Christians, through a process of re- 
newed conviction of sin, and mortification of corrupt desire, 
and humiliation of soul, in passing through which they may 
have a more searching, painful, deep experience, than that 
which was connected with their first conversion. The truth 
is, we are all, at our best estate, too little emptied of self, too 
little disgusted, too little acquainted with self; and nothing 
can put us at the point of view from which self is to be truly 
seen but a mighty work of internal humiliation, begun, car- 
ried on, and perfected by the Spirit : And it may not please 
him to employ us as his instruments in awakening and con- 
verting others before he has performed this work within us. 
The solicitude of the pastor especially, while this process is 
going on, is sometimes very singular : While he trembles in 
himself most profoundly lest his piety be unsound and his soul 
in peril, he is yet more concerned for the souls of his flock, 
and can almost adopt the words of David (2 Sam., xxiv., 17), 
"Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly; but these 
sheep, what have they done ? Let thine hand, I pray thee, 
be against me." 

It is probable that the meetings in the new place will 
gradually become larger, especially if they retain the charac- 
ter which should belong to them. It would not be improper 
if the brethren should still seek to increase them in the mode 
first employed : But the mere advertisement of them will be 
sufficient to draw some souls to them ; more, perhaps, than 
are well prepared to take part in them ; and if the interest 
in them advances, the place in which they are held will be- 
come too strait for them, and it will be necessary again to 
transfer them to a larger and less secluded place. This 



FASTING. 315 

should "be done reluctantly, and not until the demand for it 
becomes very evident and very urgent. 

After these meetings have thus been forced into more pub- 
licity, it may be expedient to diversify the mode of conduct- 
ing them : Indeed, some change before this may have been 
required ; but the time may now have come for material va- 
riations : Discourse from the pastor may be demanded — well 
prepared discourse, adapted to enlighten, to deepen, to direct 
the feeling of the attendants : The nature and guilt of the 
declension into which the flock has fallen ; the evils and 
perils of such a state ; their aggravation in the case partic- 
ularly of this flock ; the dreadfulness of remaining any longer 
at such a distance from God ; these topics may now be par- 
ticularly and thoroughly examined with great advantage, and 
the pastor ought, perhaps, to dwell upon them with tender 
earnestness, but also with great faithfulness, and with as 
much force as possible : And if the result shall be what he 
might probably hope for and expect, a day of fasting may 
seem desirable, and may be proposed ; every one, doubtless, 
will desire it, and, with the full consent of all, it should be 
in an orderly manner appointed. 

A fast-day, in such circumstances, properly and earnestly 
observed, will doubtless be of great avail. Such a day will 
be a natural exponent, a proper symbol, of the internal state 
of the souls which have been in attendance on the meetings ; 
it will, at the same time, tend to advance that state, and thus 
aid also directly to extend the awakening among the flock 
at large. Let not the observance of the day be urged on any 
one ; let liberty in respect to its observance be encouraged ; 
and let those whose hearts do not strongly incline and con- 
strain them to observe it, be prudently but earnestly dis- 
suaded from doing so. It would not be surprising if its 
observance should be attended with signal evidences of 
the presence and power of the Spirit, and with signal results 
among the flock. As an instrument of extending the awak- 



316 RENEWAL OF COVENANT. 

ening, perhaps nothing could be of equal influence and 
value. 

Connected with fasting, a solemn renewal of the Church- 
covenant may be very expedient and useful. Of this cove- 
nant their declension is a grievous violation, and, when made 
sensible of this, they can not but deplore their blame and re- 
proach in this regard ; and if this covenant is not henceforth 
to be disowned, it ought to be renewed, and, in the existing 
circumstances, it would be strange, indeed, if there were any 
general hesitation to renew it. The principle in the exercise 
of which the people of God anciently renewed their covenant 
with Him and one another (Joshua, xxiv., 14-28 ; 2 Chron., 
xxxiv., 29-32 ; Ezra, x., 1-8 ; Nehemiah, ix.), has its ground 
in permanent equity and virtue, and there may be circum- 
stances in which its practical acknowledgment on the part 
of a Christian flock is so obviously and forcibly required, that 
a truly enlightened, humble, and free spirit could not refuse 
to renew it. Still, there may be some deeply-moved souls in 
the assembly who refrain from taking this step, not because 
they would be unwilling to take it if they thought themselves 
prepared to do so, but from a horror of the guilt of breaking 
covenant with God, and from an overwhelming sense of hav- 
ing contracted this guilt already, and from not having as yet 
the witness of the Spirit with their spirits that their guilt has 
been forgiven. The dissent of these, however, should not hin- 
der others from doing what they regard to be a duty and a 
privilege. 

As the first result of these meetings and these exercises, 
there will probably be a new effusion of the Spirit, as a spirit 
of comfort and peace in the hearts of those who have been 
attending them : It would not be strange if they should have, 
for the most part, a renewal of their first love, and their first 
peace, and hope, and joy, in a larger measure than that which 
was granted to them when they were first converted. As a 
consequence of this, the next result, doubtless, would be a fur- 



THE SPIRIT NOT LIMITED TO ONE WAY. 317 

ther extension of the awakening among the other members 
of the flock ; and thus, by degrees, the flock generally may be- 
come, probably will become, awakened and revived. " When 
thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." — Luke, xxii., 
32. "I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou 
shalt enlarge my heart." — Ps. cxix., 32. 

Let us not be understood as intending to say or imply that 
the Spirit of God limits himself to one mode of awakening 
and restoring a backslidden flock— the mode which we have 
been detailing. We know that he uses other modes : Some- 
times he arouses a slumbering flock by means of alarming judg- 
ments one after another, perhaps in quick succession ; some- 
times he employs extraordinary preaching, continued through 
successive days, perhaps weeks ; sometimes he breathes upon 
the whole flock, while the pastor is giving his entire attention 
to the unconverted, and laboring earnestly to win souls to 
Christ ; sometimes the effect takes place while the pastor is 
presenting, in a series of discourses, the analysis and the evi- 
dences of the great verities of the Gospel, with unusual thor- 
oughness and power ; and sometimes the Spirit attests his 
sovereignty as to modes of influence by apparently dispens- 
ing with all mode, and by coming suddenly into his temple 
with his arousing and searching influences, while no one, not 
even, perhaps, the pastor, is seeking, or expecting, or dreaming 
of the Heavenly visitation. But if a pastor, against all his 
ordinary pains and prayers, finds the backsliding spirit still 
predominant among his flock, and making his ministry use- 
less and even hurtful to them ; and unable to forbear any 
longer, and having no help from man, no hope but from God, 
would pursue the means of awakening which Scripture and 
reason indicate as best adapted to secure the divine aid which 
is needed, we think he will not be misled if he takes the course 
we have endeavored to delineate. 

The pastor, we assume, is now exercising his ministry with 



318 SPECIAL ACTIVITY. 

encouragement and hope : There has "been a renewal of re- 
ligious interest in his parish ; the work of God among his 
flock has been revived, and we are henceforth to contemplate 
him in new circumstances. We pass to consider the mode 
of pastoral activity in a season of special interest. 

Let us not think that the ordinary mode will now suffice ; 
that the speciality of the interest will make what is ordinary 
special ; that the ordinary mode is the just measure of the 
pastor's strength, on the whole, and that he ought not to un- 
dertake labors which he can not continue. There may be 
truth in the former affirmations, but this last is not to be 
now a rule to the pastor. He must consider his strength, he 
must also remember that special labors can not be special 
long, and that the cessation of labor may involve in the re- 
sult a proportionate cessation of fruit ; still, the conclusion is 
not legitimate that he should content himself with his accus- 
tomed amount of activity. " You are aware of what conse- 
quence it is in worldly concerns to embrace opportunities and 
to improve critical seasons ; and thus, in the things of the 
Spirit, there are times peculiarly favorable, moments of happy 
visitation, where much more may be done toward the ad- 
vancement of our spiritual interest than usual. There are 
gales of the Spirit, unexpected influences of light and power, 
which no assiduity in the means of grace can command, but 
which it is a great point of wisdom to improve."* Wisdom 
in the pastor, when there is a fullness of spiritual power among 
his flock, will not permit him to work for their good only, as 
at ordinary times. Work now may be productive according 
to its amount : A month, a week, a day, perhaps, may be as 
an ordinary year. He must not be too economical of his 
strength ; he must not love his life too well ; his hour has 
come — an hour worth more, perhaps, than a life ; he must 
fill this hour with labor, thoughtful as to consequences — as to 

* Robert Hall : On the Work of the Holy Spirit, Works, vol. i., p. 
450, 451. 



SPECIAL ACTIVITY. 319 

what may be involved in the mode of his activity during 
this auspicious season — what may proceed from it to himself 
and to his flock, if he improve it as he should do — what, also, 
if he should not.^ The pastor should not consult with flesh 
and blood ; he should labor for his flock, in all his movements 
and acts, as a pastor filled with the Spirit, walking in the 
Spirit, walking in the footsteps of Christ and his apostles, 
guided by the wisdom which is from above. 

An increase of labor, extraordinary activity on the part of 
the pastor, is a spontaneous, natural result of the internal 
state in which he and his flock now find themselves : It is 
demanded by the augmented vigor and activity of their spir- 
itual life, and by the reciprocal influence of his soul on theirs, 
and of theirs on his, in this season of religious refreshing. 
Whenever he meets them, it is to impart to them a new en- 
ergy, and to receive one from them : The inter-activity of 
their " mutual faith," their mutual life, results directly in a 
higher measure of activity in them both. The pastor would 
do himself violence if he should refrain from new labors : He 
doubtless needs self-control, pastoral prudence, firmness of will, 
to avoid being led into labors beyond his strength. 

The preliminary meetings, if meetings of this character 
originated the interest, will not be discontinued ; they will 
be changed, but the change will be only as a continuous 
shining of light from dawn to perfect day. They will not be 
discontinued : They are useful still in various ways. The 
prayer which is offered in these meetings has become effect- 
ual, fervent, intercessory prayer — prayer which loses sight of 
self in concern for others — prayer for the pastor that he may 
be upheld and prospered in his new labors — prayer for the 

* " There is a tide in the affairs of men, 

Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune ; 
Omitted, all the voyage of their life 
Is bound in shallows and in miseries." 
— Shakspeare : Julius Ccesar, act iv., scene 3. 



320 FREQUENT PREACHING. 

further extension of the awakening — prayer for individuals in 
different states : for new converts, for troubled souls, lor souls 
yet indifferent, etc. — prayer that excesses may be avoided, 
and all things may proceed in a decent and orderly course 
— prayer for a yet greater outpouring of the Spirit. The pas- 
tor does not neglect these meetings. As soon would he neg- 
lect to take his necessary refreshment, his necessary food. It 
was by meetings for prayer, from which these are not essen- 
tially different, that the dispensation of the Spirit was usher- 
ed into the world ; and of the agency afterward employed 
by the apostles, none ranked higher than this — none, it would 
seem, so high. " We will give ourselves to prayer and the 
ministry of the word." — Acts, vi., 4. Where this order is 
inverted, where the highest place is given to preaching, man, 
doubtless, is depended on to carry on the work rather than 
the sovereign Spirit of God, whose influence is not given ex- 
cept in answer to prayer, and is given generally in propor- 
tion to the earnestness, and importunity, and boldness of faith 
with which it is sought by the prayers of the saints. It is 
by prayer on the part of members of his flock, more than by 
all other means, that the pastor is sustained in the pulpit, 
and made bold, free, wise, skillful, spiritual, powerful, happy 
in preaching. It gives him strength, life, and liberty in 
preaching, merely to think that he has been, and still is, re- 
membered in the prayers of his flock ; and if he is assured 
that, at the very time he is preaching, a company of souls in 
some private place are beseeching God to help him to liberty 
of thought and utterance, this persuasion, perhaps, imparts to 
him " a mouth and wisdom" not to be exchanged for the 
tongue of men and angels. 

The pastor, as to the amount of his preaching, will abound 
beyond his usual measure. The spirit of life with which he 
and his flock have been baptized, is the spirit of preaching : 
The word has been its instrument, and it lives and subsists 
upon the word. The spirit begets us unto God by the word ; 



FREQUENT PREACHING. 321 

by the word destroys our corruptions, by the word arms us 
for our warfare ; makes us watchful and courageous ; ani- 
mates, admonishes, guides, consoles, feeds us ; all by the 
word, as applied by himself. And what the word is as to 
our own life, the same is it as to the use which we make of 
our life out of ourselves, or for the furtherance of the Gospel 
among those who have not received it. Our life in this out- 
ward movement, is but a holding forth of the word of Life : 
With reference to this our life is given to us, and it is given 
in vain, if this be not its fruit. — Matt., v., 13-15 ; xiii., 52. 
Indeed, that which we have received is not the true life. — 1 
John, iv., 2, 3. The mission of God's Spirit in this world is 
to Christianize it — to make all men know, love, acknowl- 
edge, serve Christ : And they are not led by that Spirit, nei- 
ther are they in that Spirit's interest, who are not striving to 
this end. Since, therefore, it is mainly through preaching 
(Rom., x., 17) that the Christian life advances, every true 
spirit, every true life, reveals itself in activity in preaching, 
or the manifestation of the truth. Assuredly, wherever a true 
religious interest is rising and spreading in a flock, preaching, 
in one way or another, is advancing proportionately : If the 
flock have a pastor, he is not a true pastor if he be not in 
preaching " more abundant." 

As to the form of his preaching at such a time, it will be 
the same as it has been, modified appropriately by the spe- 
ciality of his circumstances. He will have no other Gospel 
to preach than that which he has preached : He will have 
no other gift to exercise in preaching it than that which he 
has received. And as to the extent, measure, and variety in 
which he is to use it, his guide is " the spirit of power, of 
love, and of a sound mind." 

It is probable that he will not limit himself to preaching 
in public : The houses of his flock will now be offered to 
him, perhaps with entreaties to occupy them ; and " preach- 
ing from house to house" may enter in no small measure 

02 



322 PREACHING FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE. 

into his plan of labor. In respect to his public preaching: — 
its particular topics, ends, manner, times — there is, perhaps, 
nothing to be considered by him, after giving due regard to 
the speciality in the state of his flock, but these two max- 
ims : 1. That he is in danger, from his present facility in 
preaching, and from the indulgence of his hearers, of becom- 
ing loose, desultory, superficial ; and, 2. That, so far from 
yielding to this temptation, he ought to aim, more than ever, 
at the highest perfection in preaching. His auditory will 
now give him the hearing ear, a teachable heart, a tender 
conscience, and a self-applying mind ; and he will mistake, 
both in reference to the best means of deepening and diffus- 
ing the interest now existing in his flock, and in reference to 
their permanent edification and usefulness, if he does not use 
the present as a most favorable opportunity for giving his 
flock the most thorough instruction in doctrinal/experimental, 
and practical Christianity. Preaching of so intellectual a 
character may seem inconsistent with meeting the demand 
for frequency ; but the appearance of inconsistency vanishes 
when we remember that the pastor, in this " day of visita- 
tion," has received a new baptism, with reference to the ex- 
ercise of his preaching gift — a baptism which " makes him 
of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord" (Is., xi., 3) ; 
which puts his soul into unusual affinity with the Christian 
doctrines, " the things of the Spirit ;" which sharpens and il- 
lumines all his inward man ; and that, after all, the most 
difficult strain of preaching, to a well-indoctrinated pastor, is 
not that which is most intellectual, but that which has to 
encounter the disadvantages of a state of moral insensibility, 
of declension in the religious life. 

We do not think that the pastor will, on the whole, find it 
expedient to introduce another preacher into his parish. An 
occasional sermon, or an exchange of pulpits, now and then, 
with a neighboring pastor, may, as formerly, be still accept- 
able, but preaching a consecutive course of sermons by a 



EARNEST PREACHING. 323 

stranger, especially if he be a man of captivating address or 
uncommon eloquence, may not favor the advancement of the 
simple and spiritual work now in progress among the flock ; 
and, what is more to be regarded, may put the pastor, as a 
preacher, into a disadvantageous contrast with this more at- 
tractive, but perhaps less solid, and, on the whole, less in- 
structive, less profitable preacher. There may be cases in 
which another preacher is necessary, as when the pastor's 
health fails ; but there will probably be no gain, either to 
the pastor or to the flock, on the whole, by employing an ad- 
ditional preacher or evangelist, unless necessity seems to make 
the demand. 

From the unusual activity of the pastor's internal state, in 
view of a like internal state on the part of the flock, and es- 
pecially of the unconverted members of it, as to whom the 
present season may perhaps appear to the pastor as their 
"day" (Luke, xix., 42), the term of grace, the turning-point 
of destiny, there will be in his preaching, especially on certain 
occasions, an earnestness, a directness, a closeness of appli- 
cation to the conscience and the heart, a wrestling urgency, 
a tender vehemence, prolonged contestation, which might not 
be attainable or proper in a season of declension and coldness : 
And this peculiarity in the preaching may associate with it- 
self some other unusual procedures in the care of souls now, 
which, in different circumstances, would not be expedient, 
perhaps not admissible. The pastor, after preaching, may 
feel constrained to second, if he can, the appeal from the pul- 
pit, by a yet closer appeal and more particular instruction in 
some less public place ; and to this end may appoint a meet- 
ing with such as may be willing to see him in some neigh- 
boring room, immediately after the dismission of the assem- 
bly. And here, after conversing with those who are present, 
whether collectively or individually, there may seem to be a 
demand for some further step, in order to a more thorough 
awakening, or more firmness of will in certain souls ; and 



324 MEETING FOR CONVERSATION. 

the pastor can not forbear until something more be done: 
What this shall be he is to determine for himself, under the 
direction of an apostle (Jude, 22, 23), not forgetting that, 
while the soul is active in conversion, and is required to ex- 
ert itself to the utmost of its power (Matt., xi., 12 ; Luke, 
xiii., 24), no activity of its own will avail without the re- 
generating and renewing agency of the Holy Spirit. — John, 
iii., 7, 8 ; Rom., ix., 16. 

The pastor will find himself unusually occupied in convers- 
ing with individuals ; sometimes with some who have not yet 
been awakened, to sound a personal alarm in their ear ; but 
with more, many more probably, who have been effectually 
touched by the Spirit, so that nothing is now more welcome 
to them, more earnestly desired and sought by them, than re- 
ligious intercourse with their pastor. The multiplication of 
cases of this latter class will perhaps be so great that he may 
deem expedient that which at an ordinary time could have 
no place : We refer to what has been termed a meeting of 
inquirers, that is to say, of individuals who have so much 
interest in religion that they are willing to be recognized in 
the presence of others as earnest seekers of light and direction 
from their pastor. 

In giving the notice that such a meeting is to be held, let 
the pastor be explicit in stating its object and defining its 
character, but let him take heed lest he make it seem need- 
lessly repulsive to some who are but partially awakened ; 
and let him invite all to attend it who, with knowledge of 
its nature, are inclined to be present ; and let him even take 
some pains to give this inclination to souls which as yet have 
it not. There is awakening power in a mere notice of such 
a meeting ; this of itself may move a soul which nothing else 
might move ; but if the pastor, when he announces the meet- 
ing, employs some tender, earnest expressions of pastoral love 
and solicitude, and makes nothing to be a condition of attend- 
ance but willingness to attend, he may, in doing this, preach 



MODE OF CONDUCTING IT. 325 

to some of his hearers with a power "beyond that of any ser- 
mon they have ever heard from him. 

The inquirers' meeting, we think, should be held in a 
place made convenient for conversation with small groups 
of individuals. After a short, pertinent prayer, let the ex- 
ercises be introduced by an address to the company, collect- 
ively, in order to impress them more definitely and strongly 
with the peculiarity of the meeting, and in order more espe- 
cially to impart to the meeting a tranquil solemnity, a calm, 
subdued, frank spirit. The minds of the attendants are prob- 
ably more or less agitated; — some with spiritual concern, too 
deep to be affected by any outward circumstances ; some by 
finding themselves in such a place in presence of others ; some 
by an inward shrinking from so much engagedness in relig- 
ion as attendance on such a meeting implies : This agitation 
must, if possible, be entirely displaced by a calm, still spirit ; 
for the human mind, in a state of perturbation, is as incapa- 
ble of receiving any just impressions of religious truth as 
the surface of a river to receive the image of the trees on its 
banks when it is ruffled by the wind. The pastor, in speak- 
ing to individuals or to groups, should be as free, as simple, 
as unaffectedly earnest in conversing now on religion as he 
would be if his theme were some subject of common life ; for 
the sacredness of religion is entirely misrepresented if it seem 
to imply any necessary association with the opposites of these 
qualities ; nay, if it do not appear to be absolutely inconsist- 
ent with them. Religion supposes seriousness, solemnity, a 
holy dread ; but it is in its very nature a tranquilizing pow- 
er, until its time comes for dealing with its obstinate and in- 
corrigible despisers. — Ezek., xxii., 14. In his conversations 
with individuals, let the pastor have no care to avoid being 
heard by those who sit by ; rather let him intend to be heard 
by them, for there is nothing secret here ; and what he speaks 
directly to one, may be no less, perhaps more, appropriate to 
others than to him. Questions should be asked of the in- 



326 VALUE OF THIS MEETING. 

quirers, not merely for the purpose of gaining information, but 
also to elicit from them what may give occasion for remark. 
It may be well, if possible, to get a group of five or six en- 
gaged in the same conversation, and to induce them to ques- 
tion the pastor, and perhaps one another. And if any thing 
be said in a particular conversation of this sort which has 
any special interest, and which is of equal concern to all the 
inquirers, let the pastor remark on it in a familiar voice which 
all may hear : In this way he may give most valuable in- 
struction, may greatly enliven and deepen the interest of the 
meeting, and prepare his way pleasantly in passing from indi- 
vidual to individual, and from group to group. When he has 
gone through the entire company, let him close as he began, 
with a short address to the whole, suggested by the general 
state of the meeting, as revealed to him in the course of his 
conversations. The meeting, we need not say, should be dis- 
missed with prayer suited to its occasion and character. 

The value of this meeting will depend much on the spirit 
and manner in which its peculiar exercises are conducted : 
The pastor should not only keep it absolutely under his own 
direction, but should invite no one to take part with him in 
conducting it, or to be present at it, except as an inquirer ; and 
he should prepare himself for it, as perfectly as possible, by 
special reflection and special prayer. He will find it, if he 
gives it due attention, a means of great advantage to him- 
self. It will supply him with topics for his sermons ; it will 
be a means of edification to him : Never does the truth come 
home to a pastor's heart with more power of reproof, of cor- 
rection, of encouragement and comfort, than when he is en- 
deavoring to impress it on the souls of his flock by conversa- 
tions with them individually. 

A meeting of another character will probably enter into 
the pastor's plan of labor now : The new converts have be- 
come so numerous that he can not, amid all his other labors, 
give to each one apart the care which should be given to all 



GENERAL ACTIVITY. 327 

belonging to this class : He may say many things most per- 
tinent to their state at the inquirers' meeting, where he will 
be sure to find them as long as it is proper that they should 
attend it : But this time may be short ; and, moreover, they 
will need instruction, which would be out of place at the meet- 
ing for inquiry. The advantages to the new converts, from 
the general influence and character of the season of special 
interest, are of the highest value ; but they do not supersede 
the necessity for specific counsels and admonitions which they 
are prepared to appreciate, and which, on their tender and 
susceptible souls, may stamp an impression of sacredness and 
spirituality, of wisdom and prudence, of zeal and devotedness, 
which may be constantly reappearing throughout their whole 
career of sanctification to guard them against excesses and 
errors, and secure to them a symmetrical and complete de- 
velopment of the Christian life and character. 

In yet another mode will the pastor's care be now em- 
ployed : The evangelic life, both in the pastor and the flock, 
is, if we may so speak, a Christ-life — a life which, through 
an infinite sacrifice, entering into our fallen humanity, seeks 
its renewal in all individuals of the race whom its influence 
reaches : And as it is a life of the reason and the spirit — a 
life of intelligent love — a life of moral freedom, that guides 
itself, not by instinct or blind impulse, but by laws, ordinan- 
ces, and arrangements of wisdom and prudence (Eph., i., 8), 
it has in this flock a system of action, a scheme or settled 
mode of operation ; and that mode is one which prescribes 
to the entire flock a variety of labors and exertions, according 
to their respective measures of ability. To this flock, in- 
cluding their pastor, the words of St. Paul (Rom., xii., 6, 
7, 8) are applicable : " Having then gifts, differing accord- 
ing to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us 
prophesy according to the proportion of faith ; or ministry, 
let us wait on our ministering : or he that teacheth, on teach- 
ing : or he that exhorteth, on exhortation : he that giveth, 



328 GENERAL ACTIVITY 

let him do it with simplicity ; he that ruleth, with diligence ; 
he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness." This flock, in 
a word, is a company of souls whom the Lord has gathered 
to himself as so many instruments through which his own 
mighty life of recovering and saving virtue may flow forth 
into the world, into the parts nearest in the first place, and 
then more remotely. And now that they have received a 
new and fresh baptism of the divine influence, what move- 
ments of it must there be from within themselves outward 
upon others who are round about them ? The pastor is over- 
seer and director of these movements, and in them all his act- 
ivity, directly or indirectly, reveals itself, controlling, correct- 
ing, animating, restraining, regulating all, according as par- 
ticular needs and exigences may require,in the exercise of that 
authority and control which pertain to his office as pastor. 
This flock, with their pastor, as, at the same time, ruler and 
chief worker, is an organized association, endued with power 
from above, which it is exerting in various forms and through 
all its officers and members, for the increase of itself and of 
the Church, by acquisitions from the world : It is, in short, 
a true Christian and apostolical system of agency for recov- 
ering and saving mankind in active and energetic operation ; 
all the parts fulfilling their proper functions, and contributing 
to the efficiency and influence of the whole. Many confer- 
ences are held, many plans are devised, many works are car- 
ried on, all having the same purpose, the furtherance of the 
Gospel, the diffusion of the Christian life and spirit, and all 
under the superintendence and direction of the pastor. 

We have thus delineated what appears to us to be in gen- 
eral (not universally, nor without variations, according to cir- 
cumstances, in every case) a suitable course as to the care of 
souls, in its application, first, to a state of special declension, 
and then to a state of special interest in the religious life of 
the flock : Now this latter state is but the true, the normal 



STABILITY. 329 

state of the flock — a state in which the flock should remain, 
advancing more and more, exerting itself more and more to 
the last ; and it can not but be that the pastor, if he retains 
his just state and position, should be always seeking to keep 
his flock in theirs, and to this end always exercising appro- 
priately the care of souls : He will not vary his pastoral ac- 
tivity on the principle that a change, another declension, is, as 
a matter of course, to take place ; he will rather proceed on 
the opposite principle, so arranging his plans, so pursuing his 
measures, so adapting his modes of influence and operation, 
direct and indirect — in a word, so ordering and exercising the 
work of the ministry in all its parts as to make it instrument- 
al, if possible, of perpetuating and promoting the existing state 
of his flock. And as, from time to time, he strives to renew, 
to consolidate (j3e6alav noLslodai) his vocation as a pastor, so 
he will have recourse to means for confirming, establishing 
his flock in that grace, that spiritual prosperity in which it now 
finds itself: In order to this, he will probably appoint days 
for special prayer and fasting, and will devote much thought 
and time to self-preparation for the proper observance of them : 
He will not allow himself to look forward to another de- 
clension, except to pray and strive against it, and, by every 
means he can legitimately use, -to prevent its occurrence, to 
render its occurrence a moral impossibility : He will feel that 
a declension would be an iniquity, an enormity ; that it can 
not come but by means of sin ; that Heaven is against it ; 
that if it does come, a curse will come with it; and that if its 
futurition does, indeed, enter into the divine plan, it does so 
only because, according to that plan, one evil thing shall be 
punished by another, in order to prevent greater evil on the 
whole.] 



PART FOURTH. 

ADMINISTRATIVE OR OFFICIAL LIFE. 



CHAPTER I. 

DISCIPLINE.^ 

This word is almost without meaning in our ecclesiastical 
institutions, or, rather, in the character which the times have 
given them. Discipline is to ecclesiastical order what police 
is to civil order ; but the citizen, whether he will or not, is 
subject to the law : Not thus with a member of the Church ; 
and since the law of the Church has no longer the sanction 
of opinion, we may say that it is law no longer. The exe- 
cution of disciplinary penalties has no longer a civil guaran- 
tee or external consequences. Thus the external sanction 
supplies nothing to the internal ; in a word, discipline has 
nothing to rest upon. Nothing of discipline remains except 
what the pastor, as an individual, exercises, and what oth- 
ers, as individuals, are willing to accept ; and we must, in- 
deed, allow, that what little remains in these circumstances 
of complete freedom from compulsion is excellent in propor- 
tion as it is small. 

"We can not but call the attention of ministers to a peril, 
of which some among them have no suspicion. The re- 
monstrances or reproofs which are a part of pastoral disci- 
pline are much more easily dispensed to the poor and the 
* See Bengel : Pensees, § 36. 



DISCIPLINE. 331 

weak than to the rich and great. We are tempted to bear 
heavily on some that we may press lightly on others. This 
is not equal. And the pastor is worthy of his mission only 
when he makes his authority to be felt alike by all souls, 
which to him are no more than souls. We must not hence 
conclude, however, that no difference should be observed as to 
manner and form. The same means have a different influ- 
ence, according to the persons to which they are applied, and, 
with the design of maintaining equality, we may treat souls 
with much inequality. 

Excommunication, properly speaking, can have no place in 
a Church which is strictly the Church of every one. The 
communicants themselves are the only judges. They must 
take care for themselves that they do not eat and drink con- 
demnation to themselves at the table of Jesus Christ. When 
the Church belongs to the state, and when the severities of 
discipline are by general consent dispensed with, we can not 
dream of exercising it, at least of restoring it in its essential 
character, which is possible only in another state of things. 
The duty of the pastor is both to debar from the Lord's Sup- 
per, by private representations, the persons whom he may 
judge unprepared to partake of this sacred repast without 
danger, and to admonish them collectively from the high 
place of the pulpit. The same rule, and no other, applies to 
the officials. 



332 RELIGIOUS PARTIES. 



CHAPTER II. 

CONDUCT TOWARD DIFFERENT RELIGIOUS PARTIES. 

The first rule as to the pastor's conduct toward the relig- 
ious parties which he may find in his parish, whether they 
be in a state of simple parties, or whether they form com- 
munities, is to preach the Gospel with sufficient simplicity, 
cordiality, and purity, to draw true hearts and spirits toward 
the form of Christian doctrine as presented in the Gospel. 
Such a position admonishes the pastor to be, as far as possible, 
a man of pure and transparent spirit. There are few cases, 
perhaps there are none, in which the pulpit should be polem- 
ical. Error flees before truth, as darkness before the light 
of day. Indeed, darkness is nothing ; light alone is some- 
thing. Speak the truth — this is filling a void ; error is the 
absence of truth. Let us have little confidence in negative 
means : Let us not think that we have been building be- 
cause we have been demolishing, or that we have edified be- 
cause we have confuted. The first, most natural, and often 
only effect of such victories is the impatience and irritation of 
the conquered party. Truth is a virtue, a power ; we have 
done every thing when we have caused it to be felt. Vir- 
tutem viderent* 

"We must give to our parishioners an example of indulgence 
and equity, and while, not by reasoning, but by facts, we 
make them sensible of the advantage which they have by be- 
longing to our communion rather than to another, teach them 
to love the truth more than the Church, and the image of 
Christ more than their own preferences. But, doubtless, the 
first rule we have given is sufficient to secure this, and to 
* " Let them see virtue." — Perse, Sat., iii., ver. 38. 



ECCLESIASTICAL PR0SELYT1SM. 333 

secure, also, as benevolent and intimate relations with the 
dissidents* (I use this word in a very general sense) as is 
compatible with the religious sympathy between them and 
us. Any thing beyond this, that is to say, any thing which 
may induce the belief that we are not really of our own par- 
ty, and, so to speak, of our opinion ; any thing which might 
give rise to the supposition that, under the pretense of belong- 
ing to one communion, we at heart belong to another, and 
that we are hindered from joining another only by consider- 
ations of personal interest or the fear of man, would be a 
scandal to our flock, and would compromise our ministry. 

Taking the word proselytism in the most general sense, it 
would be almost ridiculous to ask whether proselytism is per- 
mitted to pastors ; which, to tell the truth, is their essential 
duty and their whole work. But, adhering to the most gen- 
eral sense of the word, it may be asked whether there are 
not certain rules to be observed — a certain measure to be 
kept ; and then it may be inquired whether this proselytism, 
whose object is to transfer an individual from one sect to an- 
other, is lawful and commendable. 

To begin with the second question, let us say that conver- 
sion from one sect to another (ecclesiastical proselytism) never 
should be the immediate object of the ministry, nor of any 
reasonable Christian. But then we can not deny that when 
we labor to make a man a Christian, we labor to make him 
one in the sense in which we ourselves are Christians ; and 
we must not dissemble this fact, either to ourselves or others. 
A man gained to our doctrine by our teaching may not feel 
himself obliged to forsake his own communion ; that is, form- 
ally to renounce it, in order to unite himself to ours. If he 
is under a simple delusion, we must wait patiently until more 
light shall dissipate it. If the fear of man controls him, we 
must not connive at it, and we must express ourselves frank- 
ly on this subject, but without pressing the neophyte to take 
* See Bengel : Pcnsces Pastorales, $ 41 et 42. 



334 SPIRITUAL PROSELYTISM. 

the step to which he is repugnant. By constantly enlighten- 
ing his conscience, we shall, by degrees, create in him an im- 
perative desire for this act of self-enfranchisement. 

As to spiritual proselytism, whose end is to lead men to 
God, we agree with St. Paul, that we must "be instant in 
season and out of season" (2 Tim., iv., 2), but certainly not 
unseasonably. Rudeness and impetuosity are never in sea- 
son, and when we do not limit ourselves to waiting for occa- 
sions or procuring them, but create them, or, rather, do with- 
out them altogether, it is hard for us not to be rude and im- 
petuous, and consequently rather irritating than persuasive. 
But if we do not think it our duty to pay any attention to 
propriety in this matter, then we do not go as far as we 
should : We should stop passengers in the streets, we should 
invade their dwellings ; introduce, to the exclusion of every 
thing else, the question of salvation at all times, and con- 
stantly offend to his face every human being. I think that 
to watch for occasions, to make good use of them, to perfect 
our work, is enough to occupy all our time, and that, in short, 
there is a greater and more extended effect in waiting in this 
way than in so many blows dealt right and left without dis- 
crimination or appropriateness. The longer we live, the 
more we think, with St. Martin, that "noise does no good, 
and that good is done without noise." 

We must not despise the waters of Siloam, that go softly. 
— Isaiah, viii., 6. We must, then, neither run a venture, 
" nor beat the air." — 1 Cor., ix., 26. But with no less care 
should we avoid a circuitous manner of approaching religious 
subjects, of leading the conversation on to the subject we 
have in view. There may be in this an honest adroitness, 
but les ruses de guerre have never availed any thing. Jesus 
Christ and the apostles never made use of them : They act- 
ed with simplicity ; and in this respect, as well as others, 
we should take them for models. 



RELATIONS OF ECCLESIASTICS AMONG THEMSELVES. 335 



CHAPTER III. 

RELATIONS OF ECCLESIASTICS AMONG THEMSELVES. 

We may distinguish the relations between clerical brethren, 
suffragans, and colleagues. 

Without in the least degree recommending V esprit de corps, 
or the spirit of caste, we may recommend, from regard to the 
interest of the ministry and of the Church, good fellowship 
and frequent intercourse between members of the same cler- 
ical body. If the apostle St. Paul had a lively sense of what- 
ever affected the heart or external condition of his disciples, 
he had such a sense, in a peculiar degree, in respect to what 
concerned his companions in labor. We must be profited by 
others, and be profitable to others ; honor one another by mu- 
tual confidence ; edify one another by the spirit of peace, def- 
erence, and frankness, whether in common assemblies or in 
private interviews ; be serious in familiarity, and suffer not 
confraternity to degenerate into comradisrn ;* be ready to ex- 
ercise an honorable hospitality toward one another ; relieve 
the wants of a brother who is not in good circumstances, and 
do not leave to others all the care and all the honor of pro- 
viding for his necessities ; confer together as much as we can 
in order to profit by each other's experience ; lastly, main- 
tain among ourselves as much unity of principle, and even 
external unity, as may naturally consist with sincerity and 
liberty. 

Suffragans. — The position of the suffragan in our country 
is not generally difficult. It may not, however, be superflu- 
ous to indicate to young ministers some principles by which 
they should be directed. The suffragan minister is not an 
* French : Camaraderie. 



336 SUFFRAGANS. 

operative, a commissioner, or a clerk ; in a certain sphere he 
acts with sovereignty ; he must, therefore, reserve to himself 
an inviolable sphere of independence : But in every thing 
which does not pertain to that sphere he should regard him- 
self as subordinate to the will of the titular pastor — at least, 
remember that office has not yet been conferred on him. In 
cases in which the pastor does not wish to avail himself of 
his right, and in cases in which the suffragan has to decide for 
himself, he ought to consult his elder, hear him with earnest 
attention — being well persuaded that experience is some- 
thing; that advice, which at first was very surprising, has 
often, in the end, appeared no less natural than judicious, 
and that opinions which we thought could never be disputed, 
have, in the end, appeared to be absurd and ridiculous. The 
young minister, if he is wise, will innovate but little. In 
general, he will not think it sufficient that a change would 
be useful ; he must look upon it as necessary. He will not 
interfere, directly or indirectly, with the pastor's ministerial 
operations ; but will, in some way, continue what has been 
begun, and not mix with an impulse which has been given, 
another impulse which, though not incongenial, yet merely 
because it is different, may give trouble of mind, and break 
the unity and solidity of the work. He will be moderate in 
his preaching — allowing himself few local allusions, and feel- 
ing it to be his duty to unite modesty with authority. 

If it is " a good and a pleasant thing for brethren to dwell 
together in unity" (Ps. cxxxiii., 1), it is especially good and 
pleasant for those who, in the midst of the same flock, exer- 
cise the ministry of reconciliation. This unity is not so com- 
mon, nor so perfect where it does exist, as we might hope 
and expect it to be. It is not necessary to assign the reasons 
of this, nor to insist on the duty of restoring and perfecting 
this unity, since it is evident that nothing more seriously dis- 
credits the ministry and impairs its moral power than the 



COLLEAGUES. 337 

misunderstanding of pastors. Here is a touchstone for more 
than one kind of Christianity which is thought to he very 
pure. As long as we were alone, we thought we were doing 
good purely from love to it, so that we said within ourselves, 
terar dum prosim.* But when we have seen others rival- 
ing and surpassing us, and have perceived with consternation 
that we preferred that good should not be done at all than 
done by others at the great expense of our vanity ; when we 
are surprised to find ourselves grieved by their blessings, and 
rejoice at their injudicious measures and their bad success, 
then we understand whether, in the good which we per- 
formed, we most loved the good itself or the glory of perform- 
ing it. Many ministers have thus made a deeply humilia- 
ting discovery, which should have led them to see that the 
foundation of their Christianity and of their ministry was a 
deplorable weakness. Perhaps all other causes of disunion 
among colleagues (encroachments, jealousy of temporal ad- 
vantages, discord among the families of pastors when the 
pastors themselves were well-disposed to each other ; lastly, 
difference as to opinion and plan of conduct) — perhaps all 
these causes of alienation are of small moment compared 
with that which pertains to professional jealousy. But they 
must all be recognized, and, with the greatest care, avoided 
or prevented. We especially recommend frankness at the 
beginning of collegiate relations. Discontent and vexation 
may make us frank enough afterward, but to no purpose. 
Frankness established as a law at the outset, before all col- 
lision, will engender mutual confidence, and, better than all 
other means, prevent unpleasant and unedifying conflicts. 
The habit of praying for .one another in secret with care and 
particularity will be most appropriate to quench the fire of 
jealousy and resentment. This is the first of our duties to 
one another.f 

* " Let me be crushed, if I may but be useful." — Edit. 
t I translate here, without comment, some rules given by Claus 
P 



338 COLLEAGUES. 

Harms. Some things in them certainly deserve to be remembered 
The most minute among them may give important hints. 

" Meide den Bekannten von fruherer Zeit." (Avoid the acquaint- 
ances of former days.) 

" Tritt nicht in das Verhaeltniss des Du und Du." (Form no very 
familiar associations.) 

" Lass dir nicht zu viele Verbindlichkeiten auflegen." (Do not put 
yourself under too many obligations.) 

" Fange nicht mit zu heisser Freundschaft an." (Do not hastily 
form too warm friendships.) 

"Verschaffe dir die klarste Kenntniss von alien Beykommenhei- 
ten." (Acquaint yourself most exactly with whatever may aid you.) 

" Binnen Jahr und Tag nimm keine ehrbliche Veraenderung vor." 
(Let some time pass before you make important changes.) 

" Gehe nicht auf Verdunkelung deines Collegen aus." (Do not 
seek to eclipse your colleague.) 

" Schlage dich nicht zu seiner Gegenparthei." (Do not join your- 
self to those who are opposed to him.) See the foregoing page. 

" Nimm Weib, Kinder, und Gesind in acht." (Look well to your 
wife, children, and servants.) 

" Scheue die Billets." (Avoid running up bills.) 

" Lieber als Hammer sey du Ambos." (Be rather the anvil than 
the hammer.) — Harms, 1 Pastoraltheologie, tome hi., p. 168. 

1 The originality of expression in the German often adds to the force of these 
counsels of Claus Harms. M. Vinet quotes them in German. We have thought it 
test to give the translation, though it is impossible, in doing so, not to impair their 
force. 



RELATIONS TO AUTHORITIES. 339 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE PASTOR IN HIS RELATIONS TO AUTHORITIES.^ 

First, to ecclesiastical authority, of which the pastor is a 
partaker. It is his duty to give his aid diligently at the as- 
semblies of his order, to take a serious part in their delibera- 
tions, and to contribute, according to his ability, in rendering 
them serious. 

We should beware of discussing the small questions which 
abound in these assemblies with the amplitude, gravity, and 
vivacity which belong only to great ones. There is danger, in 
conferences composed of ecclesiastics, of forming the habit of 
treating mere nothings with gravity, and of striving about 
distinctions of words. The esprit de corps is more natural 
in these assemblies than in any others ; and the esprit cleri- 
cal, a singular thing, finds here the more aliment in propor- 
tion as the questions which are discussed are less directly and 
less seriously religious. We must learn, especially if we are 
young, how to give place to time ; and that very often the 
conservation of peace is of more value than all the advanta- 
ges which may result from the triumph of our opinion. 

Mutual discipline is a delicate matter. In all ecclesiastic- 
al constitutions it is laid down as a principle, but I should 
be happy to know where it is seriously practiced. It extends, 
in its just idea, from advice and admonition to the most pe- 
nal, most positive, and most severe measures. But in the 
majority of ecclesiastical bodies it is never realized, except in 
that last and severe extremity, in which we may say it has 
small moral efficacy. I know not how far it may depend on 

* See Bengel : Pensees, § 44. It is inserted in the Appendix, 
note L, Les Pensees de Bcngel, often cited in this course. 



340 ECCLESIASTICAL AUTHORITY. 

the jures* to raise above its actual level the beautiful insti- 
tution of church visits ; but I think that whatever can be 
done to encourage mutual frankness should be put in requisi- 
tion both by the pastor who visits a church and by him who 
governs it. We are all, however, the jures and others, bound 
to confer with one another in a charitable and humble spirit 
as to what may be respectively useful to us, and of what, very 
often, we ourselves are ignorant, to our great disadvantage, 
though it is known to all the world besides. 

In our relations to the civil or municipal authority, to the 
state and the community, let us never forget that we are 
something more than functionaries of the republic, and that 
we are by no means amenable to the magistrate as to what 
concerns the essential purpose of our ministry — the teaching 
of the truth. But let us beware of replacing authority by 
pride, and let us carefully shun that bad way into which so 
many ministers fall, of affecting, in their relations to the au- 
thority, a spirit of discontent, of censure, and of grumbling. 
It would be extremely unhappy if the people should learn of 
us what so many learn from them, disapprobation a priori, 
the anticipation of blame as to every thing in which power 
is to be "recognized. Servility is not more unworthy of our 
character than this ridiculous hostility. Besides, our rela- 
tions to the political authority have nothing of politics. We 
are, in. a certain sense, amenable to the state ; but we are 
not state officers, and the business of the state is not ours. 
In a time of political fermentation or revolution, we have no 
other mission than that of tranquillizing the minds of men 
by proposing to them those great truths which, though they 
do not nullify worldly interests, at least subordinate all our 
proceedings to the grand interest of the soul and of eternity. 

* The jures in the established Church of the Canton de Vaud are 
inspectors appointed by the classes, or pastoral assemblies, to take 
the oversight of a certain number of parishes, and charged to visit 
them periodically. — Edit. 



CIVIL AUTHORITY. 341 

I do not mean that the pastor should feign himself ignorant 
of the occupations, the dangers, the fears, the prospects of the 
country ; but the contests of opinion do not concern him ; he 
has no part to take but that of obedience to the law as long 
as the law exists, and, in all cases, the part of the country 
and of national independence. The occasions are very rare 
on which the pulpit may address citizens as such, and preach 
to them on the actual duties which pertain to them in this 
character. 

In general, we think we ought to counsel ecclesiastics, es- 
pecially such as have the care of souls, to hold no place in 
political or municipal bodies. We have examined this point 
elsewhere. 

In the administrative part of his functions, the pastor 
should leave nothing to be desired in respect to exactitude 
and punctuality. The less of taste he has for those details 
for which a man of his profession is bound, in fact, to have 
no taste, the more should he guard himself against either de- 
laying or neglecting any thing ; and it is his duty to study 
carefully, in their letter and in their spirit, all those institu- 
tions, all those laws and regulations which have any relation 
to the exercise of his functions. A pastor who would be 
useful, though in a spiritual respect only, should have exact 
knowledge and intimate acquaintance with his country, his 
people, and whatever, even in a material point of view, is 
important to the welfare of society and each of the classes 
which compose it. 

Something might be added in relation to the laws, to the 
execution of which the pastor should lend his influence, and 
to the measures which he should use to that end. 



APPENDIX. 



Note A, page 25. 
The Nature of the Priest's Office. 
" The priesthood, it is true, is accomplished on earth, but is, never- 
theless, justly placed in the rank of celestial things. In fact, no man, 
nor angel, nor archangel, nor created power, but the Paraclete him- 
self, has instituted this office, and chosen beings yet living in the 
flesh to fulfill the ministry of angels. Hence, the priest, regarding 
himself as established in heaven, even among the superior powers 
there, ought to be as pure as they. The economy which preceded 
that of grace was doubtless venerable and full of holy dread : Let us 
bring before our minds those precious stones on the priest's breast- 
plate and shoulders ; that mitre, that tunic, those golden plates, that 
holy of holies, that profound silence in the inner temple. And yet, 
comparing all these things with those of the Gospel, their glory is 
effaced — they appear mean. When you contemplate the Lord him- 
self immolated and lying before you, the priest bent over the victim, 
and praying for all, and all sprinkled with most precious blood, be- 
lieve ye that ye are yet among men! believe ye that ye are on the 
earth 1 Are ye not borne away suddenly to heaven 1 ? and then, away 
from every carnal thought, behold ye not heavenly things directly, 
and in their pureness 1 Who, unless he be profoundly insensate, can 
disregard so awful a mystery 1 And know ye not that no soul of 
man could ever bear the fire of this sacrifice ; that it would devour all 
who should approach it, unless God himself should intervene with 
the powerful support of his grace 1 Represent to yourselves the man 



344 APPENDIX. 

who yet, under the bondage of flesh and blood, personally approaches 
this immortal and most blessed Being, then may ye understand per- 
fectly what honor the Holy Spirit has vouchsafed to the priest, by 
whom these things, and others, too, in no respect inferior to them, 
are accomplished." — Chrysostom, Be Sacerdotio, lib. iii., c. iv. 



Note B, page 27. 
The Mystery of Preaching. 
" Preaching is a mystery not less awful and terrible than that of the 
Eucharist. It appears to me that preaching is much more awful ; 
for it is that by which souls are begotten and quickened unto God ; 
whereas by the Eucharist they are only nourished, or, to speak more 
correctly, healed. It is only by great self-renunciation that we can 
render ourselves worthy of this office ; and after having disciplined 
our heart to desire nothing in this world, we must discipline our 
tongue to perfect silence, which, as I understand it, is the highest 
perfection to which a virtuous man attains : Only thus can it be pre- 
pared to speak the word of God in public, without any thought either 
of ourselves or others — which in prayer we can not do; for, from 
prayer performed according to God's will, exhortation or preaching 
is not to be altogether separated. And, for my part, I had rather say 
a hundred masses than preach once. We are alone at the altar ; but 
in the pulpit we preach to a public assembly, where we ought to fear 
offending God more than elsewhere, unless we have previously la- 
bored for a long time to mortify our spirit, and that pruriency which 
every one has to know many fine things, which is the greatest tempt- 
ation that remains to us from the sin of Adam." — Saint Cyran (Let- 
tre xxxi.), a M. Le Rebours. 



APPENDIX. 345 

Note C, page 47. 
On the speedy Assumption of the Personal Authority of the Priest. 

"While inspired men thus preached Christ in entire simplicity, 
and added to this preaching admonition and encouragement, Chris- 
tians edified themselves in their assemblies by sacred songs and pious 
conversation, and by listening to those from among themselves who 
felt constrained to preach. Those who were under this impulse were 
most frequently elders, whom the assemblies chose for the very rea- 
son that they had been previously chosen to this work. Other be- 
lievers, who did not remain always in the community, labored thus 
after the manner of the apostles — so that from the beginning there 
was a teaching class, although their separation to this work took 
Dlace gradually. We find this class already in the second and third 
generations of believers — that is, as early as the second century ; so 
that the distinction between the believers and ministers in a com- 
munity, or, to use the Greek expression, between the clergy and laity, 
was established. 

" Note. — The Apostle Peter, moreover, under the word KKripos, com- 
prehends, in the spirit of Judaism, the people of God or Christians (1 
Pet., v., 3) ; the elders, however, were soon designated by this name, 
perhaps because they were chosen by lot, which they supposed to be 
a divine direction ; perhaps because, as Jerome profoundly explains 
(Ep. ii., ad Nepot.), God had made himself the lot — that is to say, the 
heritage of the Levites ; and because, in the Christian Church, the 
ecclesiastics occupied the place of the Levites ; lastly, perhaps, be- 
cause they are in a peculiar manner themselves the property of God. 
Immediately after the apostolic age, all those who were consecrated 
to the service of the Church, whether employed as teachers, or in any 
other office, were entitled KXnpiKot, and other Christians XuXkol (per- 
taining to the people), or PiwtikoI (seculares, pertaining to common 
life), and ISidorai (privati), or Kavovucoi (a word taken in a different 
sense from that which prevailed at a later period, and coming from 
kolvAv, a list of the members of the community). The earliest proof 
we have of this is the following passage of Clemens Romanus, N. 40 

P 2 



346 APPENDIX. 

(assuming the authenticity of this letter) : k<zI \zvlras tSltu SiaKoviai 
imK^iUTai, 6 \<wcbs avQpwTros roh Xaucois irposrayixacnv SeSercu. He here 
exhorts to order, in performing ecclesiastical rites, and subordinates 
the Upels to the apxiepws. The distinction is yet more exact in the 
epistle attributed to his contemporary Ignatius, who, we know, even 
at that time, professed hierarchical principles. Clement of Alexan- 
dria assures us that this distinction had begun to reveal itself as 
early as the time of the Apostle John ; and the writings of Tertullian, 
Origen, Cyprian, date this distinction in the second century. In 
Consil. Illib., the term fidelis is employed as a synonym for clericus." 
— Schwarz, Katechctik, p. 11, 12. 



Note D, page 47. 
First Appearances of a Tendency to form Pastors into a Caste. 
" Christians still loved to represent- -their vocation under another 
point of view, drawn equally from Scripture and from the essence 
of Christianity, aud. fertile, like the former, in particular applica- 
tions ; namely, that of a Christian and universal priesthood ; of an 
order of sacrificers, of which all Christians are members. Chris- 
tianity destroyed the separation between the priest and the layman, 
between the ecclesiastic and the citizen : All believers in Christ, 
the only true High-priest, are consecrated by him to the Heavenly 
Father-: As his brethren, they have become priests with him; 
united to him by faith, animated by him -with the spirit of adoption, 
they enter freely into the- heavenly sanctuary, into which Jesus has 
preceded them, and access to which he has opened to them. They 
have no longer need of a human high-priest to represent to them 
the new sanctuary — the spiritual and true sanctuary ; or to conduct 
them into it, like children, by the leading-strings of ordinances, and 
dispense to them sparingly, and according to his wisdom, the heav- 
enly treasures which eternal love has put equally within the reach 
of all. They need no one to teach them what they can now learn 
from the mouth of God himself ; for all may be instructed of God, 



APPENDIX. 347 

enlightened by the same Spirit — the Spirit of truth, and anointed by 
him with an internal and divine unction. There is for all the same 
spirit, the same heavenly life, faith, and hope ; the same Savior, 
who alone is their Master, before whom all who would be his dis- 
ciples must acknowledge themselves sinners r in order to obtain 
directly from him alone, and not from man, nor through the media- 
tion of man, salvation and sanctification. 

" Henceforth, with Christians, the times in which men served 
dumb idols, under the direction of their priests, were past ; the day 
had arrived when all men were to be masters in religion. The 
great High-priest of humanity, whom Christians followed, directed 
them, not to senseless idols, but to the living God ; and, instead of 
leading them, like blind men, he shed within them a light which 
never left them, a spirit which manifested itself by every variety of 
gifts. Each Christian was to receive a particular gift of grace ap- 
propriate to his individual character, and by this means to contrib- 
ute, as a faithful member, to the well-being of the whole society. 
It was thus with the Christians a well-established principle, which 
was reproduced in their life, that, by faith in Christ, their sovereign 
High-priest, and by communion with him, they became an order of 
true priests — consecrated ministers of God, by the internal and 
sanctifying unction of the Holy Ghost, which the Savior himself 
shed upon them." — Citation of facts and passages, in support of this, 
from Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Irenaeus, and Origen. 

" When, toward the end of the second century, men were in- 
clined to introduce into the Christian Church an institution corre- 
sponding to the Jewish pontificate, as if Christianity also needed a 
visible pontificate, and a caste of priests specially consecrated to 
God, those Christians who were still animated with the spirit of the 
primitive Church opposed themselves to this anti-evangelical meas- 
ure, and the laity assumed the position that they also, as Chris- 
tians, were a community of priests. And as the Oriental theoso- 
phists, who had embraced Christianity, without, however, designing 
to conform their habits of thought to its precepts, sought to intro- 
duce into it, in imitation of the Oriental systems, the distinction be- 



348 APPENDIX. 

tween a doctrine peculiar to the priests and an external religion 
suited to the people ; as the Gnostics prided themselves upon pos- 
sessing a knowledge superior to the belief of the multitude, who 
had only a faith founded on authority, and called themselves spirit- 
ualists, in opposition to those who attached too much importance to 
the letter ; the Christian Church, on the contrary, laid it down as a 
principle that all Christians should be united in the same simplicity 
of faith, and through it partake of the same spiritual life ; that all 
true Christians are necessarily enlightened by the Spirit of God, and 
animated with a true spirituality." 

"We live already," says Clement of Alexandria (Padagogus, 1. i., 
c. vi.) ; " we are freed from the chains of death. To follow Jesus 
Christ is to have already obtained salvation. 'He who heareth my 
word and believeth in him who sent me,' says the Lord, ' hath eternal 
life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto 
life.'' Thus faith and regeneration are already the true life ; for God, 
who produces them, works not by halves. ' Ye yourselves,'' says the 
apostle (1 Thess., iv., 9), ' are taught of God.'' Now we can not believe 
that he would leave his teaching incomplete : Consequently, he who 
has been regenerated and enlightened by the Spirit, is from thence- 
forth delivered from darkness ; just as, on coming out of a sleep, a 
man immediately feels his thought waking up into activity ; or, rath- 
er, as the operation upon a cataract communicates no new light to 
the diseased eye, but only removes the obstacle which prevents it 
from seeing, and restores freedom to the pupil, so baptism delivers 
from sin, which, like a cloud, intercepts the rays of the heavenly 
Spirit. When the Holy Spirit deigns to communicate himself to us, 
he gives us back that spiritual eye by which alone we can behold 
divine things." 

" Faith," continues he, in another place, " is the only way of salva- 
tion remaining to man. The Apostle Paul declares this in the clear- 
est manner when he says, ' Before faith came, we were kept under the 
law, shut up unto the faith which should afterward be revealed. Where- 
fore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might 
be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under 



APPENDIX. 349 

a schoolmaster.' — Gal., iii., 23-25. Do you not, then, understand that 
we are no longer under that law which inspired fear, but under the 
founder of liberty, under the direetion of the Son of God 1 After- 
ward, the apostle adds, to show that all distinction of persons is an- 
nihilated : ' For ye are all the children of God hy faith in Jesus Christ. 
For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is 
neither male nor female ; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. ' — Gal., v., 
26-28. " There are, then," he adds, " no distinctions in Christianity ; 
there is no privileged class which receives truths concealed from 
others ; there is no distinction between spiritual and carnal men {pi 
Se tyvxiKol ot Se yvaxTTiKot). On the contrary, true Christians are de- 
livered from the yoke of carnal passions ; they are equal in the eyes 
of the Lord, and are all become spiritual men." 

" But, by a singular contrast, while Christians who were faithful 
to the Gospel were thus occupied in defending the rights of simple 
believers against the ambitious enterprises of a sect, it was, at the 
same time, necessary for them to sustain the equality of the Chris- 
tian vocation and of its engagements against another class of indi- 
viduals, who were anxious to profit by these anti-evangelical distinc- 
tions, in order to excuse themselves from leading a holy and Chris- 
tian life. Under the pretext that they were not philosophers, that 
they had not learned to read, they thought they need not concern 
themselves with the Scriptures. Hence Clement says (Paedagogus, 
1. iii., fol. 255), ' Even though they could not read the Bible, they 
were on this account none the less inexcusable, because nothing 
prevents them from hearing the word of God. Faith does not be- 
long to the wise of this world, but to those who are wise in the 
judgment of God. The word of faith, which is divine, and not the 
less because it is within reach of the ignorant, is no other than the 
word of charity.' Clement means that faith manifests itself alike in 
the hearts of all Christians, by works and labors of love." — Neander, 
Denkwiirdigkeiten, etc. Memoirs with reference to a History of Chris- 
tianity and of the Christian Life, etc., translated from the German by 
A. Diacon, Neufchatel, 1829, vol. i., p. 65-74. 



350 APPENDIX. 

" Tertullian expresses himself forcibly concerning the universal 
priesthood of all Christians. (De Monog., c. vii.) He starts with 
the idea that all Christians are now what the priests were under 
the New Testament. The special priesthood of the Jews was the 
prophetic image of the general priesthood of Christians (" Pristina 
Dei lex nos in suis sacerdotibus prophetavit"). Christ has called us to 
the office of priests. The sovereign Sacrificer, the High-priest of 
the eternal Father, has united us to himself ; ' for as many of you 
as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ' (Gal., hi., 27), 
' and thus he has made us kings and priests unto God his Father.' " 
— Apoc, i., 6. Neander, Denkwiirdigkeiten, etc., vol. i., p. 179. 

" Christ having satisfied the religious want which had, 

in general, produced the priesthood, and having, by his redemptive 
work, supplied the needed mediation between God and men, who felt 
themselves separated from God by sin, there was no longer a place 
for another intervention. When the apostles, in their epistles, apply 
to the new religious constitution the Jewish idea of a priesthood, of 
sacerdotal worship, of sacrifices, they design to show that Christ, 
having realized forever that which was the object of the priesthood 
and the sacrifices of the Old Testament, the reconciliation of man 
with God, all those who receive him by faith, enter into the same re- 
lation to God, without need of any other mediation. Consecrated to 
God, and sanctified by communion with Christ, they are all called to 
offer their entire life as a spiritual sacrifice acceptable to God ; all 
their activity is a true sacerdotal, spiritual worship ; Christians are a 
holy nation, a people of priests. — Rom., xii., 1 ; 1 Peter, ii., 9. This 
idea of a priesthood belonging to all Christians, and founded upon the 
consciousness of redemption, is sometimes expressed and developed, 
sometimes implied in the attributes, images, and comparisons which 
are applied to the Christian life." — Neander, Geschichte der Apostel, 
etc., translated from the German by F. Fontanes, pastor, Nismes, 
1836, vol. i., p. 108, 109. 



APPENDIX. 351 

Note E, page 47. 
Of the Universal Priesthood of the Christian Church. 
" Christianity allows no place to a tribe of priests ordained to di- 
rect other men, as under religious pupilage, having exclusive charge 
to supply men's needs in respect to God and divine things. While 
the Gospel removes whatever separates men from God, it also calls 
men to fellowship with God through Christ ; it takes away, more- 
over, every barrier which separates men from one another in respect 
to their highest interests. All have the same High-priest and Medi- 
ator, through whom all, as reconciled and united to God, have them- 
selves become a sacerdotal and spiritual race ; the same King, the 
same celestial Master and Teacher, through whom all have become 
wise unto God ; the same faith, the same hope, the same spirit, by 
whom all are animated ; the same oracle in the heart of all — the voice 
of the Spirit proceeding from the Father — all citizens of the same ce- 
lestial kingdom. There were here neither laics nor ecclesiastics ; 
but all, so far as they were Christians, were, in their interior life and 
state, dead to whatever there was in the world that was contrary to 
God, and were animated by the Spirit of God. Who might arrogate 
to himself, what an inspired apostle durst not, to domineer over the 
faith of Christians 1 The office of teaching was not exclusively con- 
ferred on one man, or many ; but every believer who might feel him- 
self called, might speak a word in the assembled Church for the com- 
mon edification." — Neander, Allgemeine Geschichte der christlichen Re- 
ligion und Kirche, tome i., p. 177. 



Note F, page 57. 

On the Dignity of the Ministry. 

u Moreover, if we weigh things in a just balance, we shall find 

that there is no king, by whatever pomp he may be surrounded, who. 

as a king, is not below the dignity, I do not say of a bishop, but even 

of a village curate {vicani pastoris), regarded as a pastor. If I seem 



352 APPENDIX. 

to utter a paradox, I can establish the truth of what I say. In order 
to this, let us but compare the functions and object of a pastor with 
those of a king. To what do princes give their concern ? Is it not 
by the vigor of the laws to repress the wicked, and to preserve the 
upright in peace 1 That is, to keep the persons and the goods of the 
citizens of the state in safety. But how much more excellent is the 
object of the evangelical pastor, who seeks to establish the sweetest 
tranquillity in the souls of individuals by quieting and taming the 
lusts of the world 1 A king labors to the end that the state may live 
in peace with its neighbors ; it is the endeavor of the priest that ev- 
ery one may be at peace with God, may have peace within, and that 
no one may design the injury of another. 

" The prince's object is to protect the house, the field, the cattle 
of individuals against the encroachment of thieves. See how vile is 
the object of these royal functions. And what is the occupation of 
the priest? To protect the goods of the souls which are confided 
to him, their faith, their charity, their temperance, their chastity, 
against the violence of the devil ; goods which make those happy 
who possess them, and the loss of which plunges them into misery. 
What is it that we may receive from the liberality of the prince 1 
Revenues, appointments, titles of honor : fleeting goods — sports of 
fortune. But what may we hope to receive from the hands of the 
priest"? He administers heavenly grace by the efficacious sacra- 
ments of the Church. By baptism he makes children of hell to be- 
come heirs of the kingdom of heaven ; by the holy unction he gives 
the soul power to resist the assaults of devils ; by the holy Eucha- 
rist he unites men with one another, and men with God, in order to 
form them into one whole ; by the sacrament of penance he gives 
life to the dead, and of slaves he makes freemen ; finally, from the 
breast of the Scriptures he draws daily the sustenance of saving 
truth, which nourishes and strengthens souls. The priest presents 
that spiritual beverage which truly rejoices the heart ; he presents 
the remedy which can heal the mortal maladies of the soul, the ef- 
fectual antidote of the dreadful poison of the old serpent. In a 
word, whatever falls under the control of the prince is earthly and 



APPENDIX. 353 

fleeting ; but that which engages the pastor's care is divine, celes- 
tial, eternal. Consequently, as great as is the difference between 
heaven and earth, between the body and the soul, between temporal 
and eternal goods, so great is the difference between the functions 
of a prince and the charge of a priest." — Erasmus, Ecclesiastes, lib. i., 
traduction de Roques, dans le Pasteur Evangelique, p. 190, 191. 



Note G, p. 116. 
Of Prayer. 

Prayer of Bacon. — " This invocation, the Christian simplicity of 
which is very touching in so great a man, afterward became," says 
M. Chateaubriand, " his habitual prayer when he addressed himself 
to study." 

The Student's Prayer.— ■" To God the Father, God the Word, God 
the Spirit, we pour forth most humble and hearty supplications ; that 
he, remembering the calamities of mankind, and the pilgrimage of 
this our life, in which we wear out days few and evil, would please 
to open to us new refreshments out of the fountains of his good- 
ness, for the alleviating of our miseries. This, also, we humbly and 
earnestly beg, that human things may not prejudice such as are di- 
vine ; neither that, from the unlocking of the gates of sense, and the 
kindling of a greater natural light, any thing of incredulity or intel- 
lectual night may arise in our mind toward divine mysteries. But 
rather that, by our mind thoroughly cleansed and purged from fancy 
and vanities, and yet subject and perfectly given up to the divine 
oracles, there may be given up unto faith the things that are 
faith's. Amen." 

The prayer of Bacon, which we here give, is somewhat remark- 
ably varied in the preface of his Novum Organum : It there termin- 
ates in these words : " And, lastly, that, being freed from the poison 
of knowledge infused into it by the serpent, and with which the hu- 
man soul is swollen and puffed up, we may neither be too profound- 
ly nor immoderately wise, but worship truth in charity." — De Vau- 
xelles, Histoire de Bacon, tome i., p. 107. 



354 APPENDIX. 

Prayer of Kepler. — " Before I rise from this table, where I have 
been pursuing these researches, it only remains for me to raise my 
eyes and my hands toward heaven, and devoutly address my hum- 
ble prayer to the Author of all light : O Thou who, by the lofty lights 
which thou hast spread over all nature, dost raise our desires even 
to the divine light of thy grace, in order that we may one day be 
transported into the eternal light of thy glory, I thank thee, Lord 
and Creator, for all the ecstatic joy which I have experienced in the 
contemplation of the work of thy hands. I have now finished this 
book, which contains the chief of my labors, and I have employed in 
its composition the whole sum of the intelligence which thou hast 
given me. I have declared to men all the greatness of thy works ; 
I have unfolded to them their evidences, as far as my finite mind 
has been able to comprehend their infinite amplitude. I have exert- 
ed all my efforts to raise myself to truth in the way of philosophy ; 
and if I, a miserable worm, conceived and nourished in sin, have 
chanced to say any thing unworthy of thee, make it known to me, 
that I may blot it out. Have I not yielded to the seductions of pre- 
sumption in presence of the admirable beauty of thy works 1 Have 
I not had in view my own renown among men in raising this monu- 
ment, which should be entirely consecrated to thy glory 1 Oh, if it 
has been thus with me, of thy mercy and clemency receive me, and 
grant me grace that the work which I have completed may be the 
means of no evil, but may contribute to thy glory and to the salva- 
tion of souls."— Buckland, La Geologie et la Mineralogie, etc., traduit 
de V Anglais e, par Doyen, tome i., p. 9, note. 

Prayer of De Thou. — " The historian De Thou relates, in his mem- 
oirs, that every morning, besides the prayer which each believer is 
required to offer, he implored God in private to purify his heart, to 
banish from it hatred and flattery, to enlighten his mind, and to 
make known to him the truth, which so many passions and conflict- 
ing interests had almost buried : We are happy to find such agree- 
ments between contemporary authors." — De Vauxelles, Histoire de 
Bacon, tome i., p. 107, note. 

Sacerdotal Prayer. — " Prayer is the most inward and the most es- 



APPENDIX. 355 

sential duty of the ministry ; it is the soul, so to speak, of the priest- 
hood; it is the pastor's only safety : This alone sweetens the dis- 
tastes, and precludes the danger of your functions ; this alone secures 

success in the discharge of them. . But, my brethren, even 

if prayer were not as indispensable as it is to the success of our func- 
tions, do we not owe it to our people 7 ? Are we not charged, in our 
character of pastor and of minister, to pray for them without ceas- 
ing 1 Is it not even the most essential duty of that priesthood which 
establishes us as mediators between God and the people 1 On the 
prayers of the pastor God has made to depend the grace which he in- 
tends to bestow upon the flock : It is ours, my brethren, to present 
to him, without ceasing, the wants of our people, to solicit for them 
the riches of mercy, to turn away his wrath from the infliction of 
those scourges and chastisements with which their provocations are 
often punished : It is ours to deplore before him the vices with which 
we see our people infected, and of which our cares and our zealcan 
not cure them : It is ours to ask strength for the feeble, compunction 
for hardened sinners, perseverance for the righteous. The more 
boundless the wants of our people, the more lively and frequent 
should be our prayers ; We should never appear before him without 
having, like the high-priest under the law, the names of the tribes 
written on our heart — that is to say, the names of the people confid- 
ed to us ; this should always be the principal subject of our prayer." 
— Massillon, Douzierne Discours Synodal, J}e la Necessite de la Prtere. 
The same Subject. — " Accompany your labors with your prayers : 
Speak of the disorders of your people to God more frequently than to 
them. Complain to him of the obstacles put in the way of their con- 
version by your unfaithfulness more frequently than of those which 
their obstinacy may present. Blame yourself alone at his feet for the 
small fruit of his ministry. As a tender father, apologize to him for 
the faults of your children, and accuse only yourself," etc. — Massil- 
lon, Discours sur le Zele des Pasleurs pour le Salut des Ames. 



356 APPENDIX. 

Note H, page 182. 

By the Translator. 

Has the Sabbath been abolished ? 

What is the ideal of the Sabbath 1 If the Sabbath were an insti- 
tution of the theocracy, like- the appointment of the cities of refuge, 
etc., then, when the new dispensation entered, it did, indeed, pass 
away with the other theocratic institutions of Judaism. But the 
Sabbath, in its ideal, was no more judaic or theocratic than marriage. 
Its date was ante-judaic. The Sabbath was the day on which He 
who built all things ceased and rested from his work — the seventh 
day, which God blessed and sanctified, because that in it he had 
rested from all his work which God created and made. — Genesis, ii., 
3, compared with Exodus, xx., 10, 11. When the Author, who was 
also the first observer of the Sabbath, established, under the legation 
of Moses, a theocratic form of government over the Jewish people, 
it pleased him to incorporate in it the Sabbatic institution ; and by 
enacting laws respecting this institution with temporal or civil sanc- 
tions, to erect it into an institution of civil polity, without, however, 
divesting it of its original character of sacredness. The Sabbath, 
amid the institutions of Moses, stood in all its distinctiveness and 
peculiarity as perfectly as it did at its first appointment. As the civ- 
ico-sacred government which the Jews had been under ceased when 
the new dispensation began, the Jewish appendages to the Sabbath, 
or the Sabbath, as far forth as it was a purely Jewish institution, now 
had an end. But the ideal of the Sabbath transfers us beyond the 
date of Judaism, and beyond all local and variable interests and com- 
munities, and, placing us at the stand-point of humanity, discovers 
to us, as the just sphere of the Sabbatic Law, the whole race of man 
regarded as possessing a religious nature, in circumstances such as 
man's must needs have been while an inhabitant of the earth, and 
subject to laws of human life appropriate to such a world and such 
a state as were chosen for man by his Maker. 

Assuming that man was to lead a religious life on earth, we can 
not avoid seeing that the Sabbath, if not of indispensable necessity 



APPENDIX. 357 

to this end, was at least of the highest advantage and value ; and the 
Divine wisdom and goodness in sanctifying and hallowing it (for it 
was for man's sake that this was done, Mark, ii., 27), can not but be 
acknowledged : And to suppose that this institution, regarded in its 
true idea, has been abolished by Christianity, is to suppose that un- 
der Christianity — that is, under the dispensation of the fullness of the 
Divine favor to man, there has been an abridgment of privileges in a 
very comprehensive, if not an all-comprehensive, respect. Indeed, it 
seems impossible to think that Christianity, without a constant mira- 
cle, could attain its purpose, if the Sabbath, such as it was from the 
beginning — the Sabbath in its original ideal and influence — should be 
denied to it. Was, then, the Sabbath abolished by Christianity 1 

" Jesus Christ," says M. Vinet, page 42, " instituted very little ; he 
inspired more." He abolished as he instituted. He employed no 
direct legislation against the peculiarities of Judaism, the shadows 
of the good things which were to come in with the Gospel : He left 
the shadows to themselves, after the " very image of the things" 
had manifested itself, except when the shadows sought to displace 
this image. The shadows very reluctantly, but slowly and gradual- 
ly, retired, and the Christian verities availed themselves of the ad- 
vantages which were afforded them by the dispensation of liberty to 
which they belonged ; and as Christian institutions were needed, they 
made their appearance, sometimes by the special agency of the dis- 
ciples, and sometimes spontaneously, or, as it were, of a natural birth 
or growth. In one way or another, the new wine was provided, or 
provided itself, with new bottles as they were needed. 

The law of the spirit of life in Christianity, in its action in ref- 
erence to the Sabbath, followed its own appropriate mode : It need- 
ed, as a sacred day, a different day of the week from that which 
had been observed as a Sabbath under the former dispensation : It 
did not legislate out the seventh day ; it did not explicitly and mag- 
isterially legislate in the first day : As the new life had its begin- 
ning and its fountain in the resurrection of Christ, it was natural, 
assuming it had need of a sacred day, that it should take the first 
day of the week : It did this, it would seem, spontaneously or natu- 



358 APPENDIX. 

rally, and not by means of any legislative or instituting act, wheth- 
er immediately on the part of Christ himself or through the agency 
of the apostles. The first day, without any expression of discon- 
tent with the seventh, without forbidding expressly the observance 
of the seventh, naturally, quietly, unobjectionably assumed the place 
to which it was called by the wants and exigences of Christianity. 
But did it take this place less under the divine sanction, and less 
by the action of the divine will and the divine Spirit, than it would 
have done if a law had been passed appointing it to this place, with 
all the authority and force with which the seventh day was installed 
as a great fundamental institution of Judaism 1 Though it came in 
with the spontaneity and freedom which pertained to the essence 
of the new life, let us remember it was this new life as it dwelt and 
developed itself in the apostles — inspired, and, in reference to the 
work of the apostolate, infallible men — that, as with the swelling 
flood of the sea, advanced the Lord's day to the sanctity and honor 
of the sacred day of Christianity. It is impossible that there should 
be any tokens of majesty, sacredness, authority divine and inviola- 
ble, more unambiguous, more decisive, more commanding, than those 
by which the religious observance of the first day of the week is 
sanctioned and enforced. 

So our author thinks : " Sunday was not added to Christianity ; it 
was born of it : Sunday is a summary of Christianity. . . . Internal 
necessity is the true law, the best authority for Sunday ; it speaks 
more strongly to us than a written ordinance. . . . Nothing binds so 
much as Christian liberty and conscience — this has consecrated a 
day ; it ought, then, to be holy." This would seem to be putting the 
authority and sanctity of the Lord's day, as a day of sacredness, on 
ground as high and as holy as we could desire for it. Its observ- 
ance as a sacred day is binding, is necessary, is the natural off- 
spring of Christianity, without which there would soon be no Chris- 
tianity. We rejoice in this view of the subject, from this most vig- 
orous and profound thinker, the more, because men of high name 
and station have recently advanced different views, which we can 
not regard as favorable to Christianity. The Archbishop of Dublin, 



APPENDIX. 359 

for example, puts the authority of the Lord's day on the same 
ground with that of Holy Thursday, Christmas, and other days 
which the Church has thought proper to appoint as sacred ones in 
the exercise of the power of the keys, or the power of binding and 
loosing, granted by Christ to his first followers, and through them to 
their successors. In contradistinction to this, M. Vinet's view of 
the ground of the sacredness of" Sunday" places it in perfect inde- 
pendence of ecclesiastical legislation, identifies it with the very es- 
sence of Christianity, and thus gives it a position into which no 
other day can be introduced without sacrilegious usurpation. Still, 
even he asserts that the Sabbath is abolished : Le Dimanche, the 
Lord's day, is not a Sabbath. That institution, which was ordain- 
ed by the Maker of the world, for the benefit of mankind, before the 
generations began, and without the appropriate influence and ad- 
vantage of which the spiritual life, in such a world and in such cir- 
cumstances as ours, can not be perpetuated — did Christianity, in- 
deed, abolish this institution by setting aside that system of Judaism 
which, for its own purposes, appropriated the Sabbatic principle and 
invested it with secular authority'? Bid an institution, having its 
ground in the spiritual nature and necessities of man, pass away with 
a mass of institutions, the ground of which was local, temporary, 
and, after its day had passed, illegitimate, and impossible to be re- 
tained'? Did Christianity abolish an institution as old, as radical, 
and as necessary as marriage, because it was its lot to be taken, for 
special reasons, into company with the shadows and symbols of Mo- 
ses' law 1 

This question may be thought to be unimportant, since the sacred- 
ness of Sunday, the Lord's day, is put into such high and command- 
ing relief by the doctrine of our author. Indeed, according to this 
doctrine, the Sabbath, in its essential idea, is not abolished ; it is re- 
tained ; it is advanced into more full and perfect power and life : 
Nothing is abolished but the laws of Moses respecting the Sabbath : 
This was. indeed, a small thing ; nay, it was a good and a neces- 
sary thing, that these laws should have been abolished. Had they 
remained to regulate the observance of the Sabbath under the 



360 APPENDIX. 

Christian dispensation, they would have militated against the whole 
genius and purpose of that dispensation : But not less hostile to 
these would have been the setting aside the influence and sanction 
of the exact idea, and the intrinsic law and life of Sabbatism. Not 
without reason was true piety, under the Old Testament, resolved 
into Sabbatism — the keeping of a Sabbath. There was more than a 
mere symbol in Sabbath-sanctification ; there always has been more ; 
there always will be more : When all the shadows and all the chan- 
ges of time shall have found their end, Sabbatism will remain, as 
comprising the substantive and immutable piety of the heavenly 
State: airoXe'nceTai 2ABBATI2MO v 2 tw \au> rod 6eov. — Heb., iv., 9. 
All will be Sabbath forever in heaven : that is to say, the piety of 
saints, such as it is when it exercises and expresses itself in the 
form of genuine Sabbath-sanctification — this piety perfectly devel- 
oped under this form, as it will be in heaven, gives us the ideal, and 
is most completely identical with the very essence of the piety of 
heaven. And if the most perfect exhibition of the piety of heaven 
was needful or desirable in advancing the cause of Christianity, it 
were strange, indeed, that Christianity should deprive itself of this 
advantage, as it certainly has done, if it has strictly and absolutely 
abolished the Sabbath. 

It is the change of the day, nothing besides this,* that has sug- 
gested the idea of abolition : But not to assume with some a position 
not tenable, that the day has not been changed, except to change it 
back to that which had been observed from the beginning until the 
time of Moses, we ask whether there be any thing in the identical 
twenty-four hours between the termination of Friday and the begin- 
ning of Sunday which would involve the abolition of Sabbatism, if any 
other hours than these should be taken in their stead 1 Would there 
not be in this case a most gratuitous application of the principle, the 
letter killeth — a principle which, as much as any other, may be termed 
a fundamental one in hermeneutics 1 If Christianity retains the whole 
of the Sabbatic institution, except the sanctification of these identic- 
al hours — if, with all the fullness and power of its mighty life, Chris- 
* Gal., iv., 10, and Col., ii., 18, do not refer to this subject. 



APPENDIX. 861 

tianity has declared itself in favor of exactly that essential thing 
which constituted the all in all of Sabbatism at the beginning, except 
that, for high and necessary purposes, it has assigned to it a place 
in the run of the week different by one day from that which it first 
held — if this is all that Christianity has done in modifying the ancient 
Sabbatic institution — if, with this one exception, it has advanced the 
idea of Sabbatism, together with all the particular ideas which this 
comprises as entering into the unchangeable and eternal essence of 
piety, far, immeasurably far, beyond its original sphere — is thers any 
warrant, any justification, for the use of such language as this : Chris- 
tianity has abolished the Sabbath 1 

If fidelity to the truth does not require this affirmation, we think it 
should not have been made. Words are things. Luther, in order to 
express in the strongest manner his abhorrence of legalism, employs 
these terms in regard to the observance of Sunday : " Keep it holy, 
for its use' sake both to body and soul ! But if any where the day is 
made holy for the mere day's sake — if any where any one sets up its 
observance upon a Jewish foundation, then I order you to work on it, 
to ride on it, to dance on it, to feast on it — to do any thing that shall 
reprove this encroachment on the Christian spirit and liberty." For 
the observance of Sunday, in Luther's conception, there was no ground 
of obligation excepting expediency : no inviolable law of God re- 
quired it : So he taught with all the power of his mighty tongue. 
His end was good : So, with his views of the sacredness of Sunday, 
he was, perhaps, right in teaching : We say he may have been right 
in teaching as he did if Sunday truly have no other ground of sacred- 
ness than expediency, according to man's ideas of expediency. M. 
Vinet had no such conceptions as to the foundation of Sunday sacred- 
ness ; but in saying that the Sabbath is abolished, it is to be feared 
that he opens the door, by possibility at least, to the legitimation, to 
an indefinite extent, of Luther's teaching on this point. If we say 
the Sabbath is abolished, do we not virtually make expediency the 
rule of Sunday sanctification, unless, indeed, we assume Whately's 
position, that Sunday should be kept from regard to ecclesiastical 
prescription or recommendation. M. Vinet rests the sacredness of 

a 



362 APPENDIX. 

the Lord's day on the same foundation on which Christianity itself 
rests : herein he is right ; hut that which has a firm foundation may 
still need law to inform, to regulate, and direct it ; and, taking man- 
kind as they are, to remove the authority of positive law from relig- 
ious institutions, to place the claims of these institutions "to our re- 
gard on any other ground than that of the peremptory authority and 
inviolable command of God, is a virtual desecration of them. 



Note I, page 185. 

By the Translator. 

On Liturgies. 

The question whether the spirit of the evangelic life or Christian 
dispensation desires or needs a Liturgy in worship ; whether this 
spirit prefers or consents to bind itself to forms of prayer, prescribed 
or imposed by ecclesiastical authority or prudence, we would appeal, 
for a new examination on its merits, against the disposition which is 
made, or is sought to be made of it, by predominant sentiment. 
Whether it be from the new appearance of formalism, or from de- 
sire for a more chaste and cultivated manner in conducting public 
worship, or from defect of the spirit of free prayer in these times, or 
from all these causes combined, there are indications, not to be mis- 
taken, that a preference for the stated use of Liturgies is prevailing 
to some extent in denominations which have hitherto thought it, 
among themselves at least, inexpedient : And as the tendencies of 
this preference in these denominations seem to us unfavorable to 
the interests of Christianity, on the whole, we should scarcely be 
true to ourselves if we should leave our author's remarks on Litur- 
gies without at least indicating our judgment. 

Let us not misapprehend our author on this subject. Though he 
says, when speaking of the performance of the service, "Le ministre 
est lie a la Liturgie qui ne lui appartient pas, qui est la voix meme du 
troupeau et a laquelle il ne fait que preter sa voix individuelle," he had 
said before, " Des paroles a la fois humaines et prescrites ne me sem- 



APPENDIX. 363 

blent pas realiser Fideal d'une Liturgie : Si la parole humaine devait 
s'y meler, je l'aimerais mieux libre et individuelle." Taking both these 
passages together, and interpreting them as we feel bound to do, with- 
out making our author inconsistent with himself, we obtain, as M. 
Vinet's judgment, on the whole, that, while the officiating minister, 
as the minister of a flock that has prescribed to itself forms of wor- 
ship, is to be tied to the Liturgy of the flock, and not to use his own 
voice except as that of one individual thereof, there is, nevertheless, 
in this mode of worship, something inconsistent with the ideal of a 
Liturgy. "It appears to me," he says, "that the ideal of a Liturgy 
can not be realized in words at the same time human and prescribed. 
If human words are to be admitted, I prefer that they should be free 
and individual." As there are " human words" in all extant Litur- 
gies, it is M. Vinet's impression that the ideal of a Liturgy is realized 
in no Liturgy ; that is to say, if we understand him, that liturgical 
worship, such as it is every where in fact, involves more or less of 
inconsistency with the just idea of worship. This he might believe, 
and yet, on the whole, think this mode of worship expedient — expedi- 
ent as being less objectionable than free prayer. 

And yet free prayer he thinks more congenial with the ideal of a 
Liturgy than prayers precomposed and prescribed by man. In the 
nature of free prayer as such, there is nothing incongenial with this 
ideal : In prescribed forms, on the contrary, the ideal can not be re- 
alized : Free prayer, then, has this advantage, and it is surely no un- 
important one, that, in its just and complete exercise, the ideal of • 
worship may be realized : It will be realized if those who offer free 
prayer are not in fault ; it can not be in the other mode of worship. 
If, then, it be feasible to have free worship, unobjectionable as to 
manner and spirit, or just in proportion as this is feasible, the prefer- 
ableness of free worship is unquestionable. 

Dismissing for the present the question as to this feasibility, we re- 
turn to the other point — the incongeniality of Liturgies with the spirit 
of Christianity — the ideal of Christian worship : With such views of 
this spirit as our author has so forcibly and beautifully expressed, it 
was impossible for him not to have felt the incongeniality, the incon- 



364 APPENDIX. 

sistency of which we speak. He could not but feel that the spirit of 
Christianity, especially in its primitive manifestation, was entirely in- 
consistent with such an interference with spiritual liberty as the au- 
thoritative prescription of a human Liturgy would have been. History 
had acquainted him with the fact that there was no such interference ;* 
but, independently of history, he knew this by a priori evidence — he 
knew it, we may say, by intuition. The early Christianity would, in 
his apprehension, have denied itself if it had submitted to the imposi- 
tion of a prescribed and stereotyped Liturgy. 

But, though we have no need of historical evidence, we ought not 
to forget this fact of history, namely, that there was no appearance 
of liturgical worship in the Christian Church until Christianity had be- 
come degenerate and corrupt. Liturgies were unknown in the purest 
times ; in their beginning, their increase, and through all their chan- 
ges, they were the work of uninspired men's hands ; their origin is 
unknown: "They seem to me," says Dr. Owen, "to have had but 
slender originals ; their beginnings were small, plain, brief ; their use 
arbitrary ; the additions they received were from the endeavors of 
private men in several ages, occasional for the most part ;" their 
apology was necessity, arising from the introduction of men " into 
the office of the ministry who had not gifts and abilities for the prof- 
itable discharge of the work of the ministry ;" the times of their 
greatest abundance and prosperity were the ages of darkness ; and, 
in Dr. Owen's judgment, they had the chief influence in promoting 
the degeneracy of the Church before the Reformation.t 

It has seemed to us an invincible objection to the general use of 

* The following is the account given by Tertullian of the manner of worship in 
his time: "Illuc (that is toward heaven) suscipientis Christiani manibus expansis 
quia innocuis, capito nudo quia non erubescimus, denique sine monitore quia de 
pectore oramus." — ApoL, cap. 30. Justin Martyr's is as follows : *A6eoi ph ovv 
to? ovk. ia-fiev, tov oeixivpybv tojv be tov Travrb; cre^ofievot, avevberj ai/u.a.Twv kcu o-ttov- 
Suv kcu. 0UjU.ia/u.aTU>v a>s ebeS&xOriixv*' Xeyovro? A.6yw ev^S <" evxapio-rtas e<£' o!s rrpos- 
<f>epbixe9a -rracrt-v bait} Svvajtxts alvovres. — Apol. 

t Owen's Works, vols. iv. and xix. London, 1826. Dr. Owen has with great C3re 
examined the question before us, and the study of his powerful treatises we would 
earnestly recommend as especially seasonable at the present time. 



APPENDIX. 365 

Liturgies, apart from their intrinsic incongeniality with the spirit of 
Christianity, that they are unfavorable to the object of Christianity 
in these two respects : 

1. The extension of the Gospel. Liturgies suppose churches al- 
ready organized, power in the people to read, &c., difficulties which, 
we think, can not be embraced in any judicious plan for evangelizing 
the heathen : How could Brainerd have conducted public worship 
among his Indians had he been compelled to use a prayer-book 1 

2. Particularity in the offices of public devotion : Liturgies can not 
anticipate the various occasions and circumstances which demand 
distinct reference and mention in prayer. The life of prayer con- 
sists, in a great degree, in its suitableness to times and providences, 
and in particularity of petition. Herein Liturgies must needs be de- 
ficient : The state of the flock and the aspect of affairs are contin- 
ually varying, but the Liturgy does not vary. The words, for gen- 
eral purposes, may be suitable ; but they must be always read as 
they stand ; and the new exigences rising up daily, and demanding 
distinct notice at the throne of grace, must be passed over with a 
generality of expression, which covers many other things as well 
as them. Surely that can not be the best way of conducting public 
worship which, in its very nature, has so great an inconvenience and 
defect. 

There are, however, objections against free prayer which ought 
not to be overlooked. The chief objections are these two : 

1. Extemporaneous or free prayer produces confusion in the 
minds of the worshipers. " The congregation, in extemporaneous 
prayer," says Dr. Paley, " being ignorant of each petition before they 
hear it, and having little or no time to join in after they have heard 
it, are confounded between their attention to the minister and their 
own devotion. Their devotion is necessarily suspended till the pe- 
tition is concluded ; and before they can adopt it, their attention is 
required to what follows. Extemporary prayer can not, for tbis rea- 
son, be joint prayer. Joint prayer is that in which all join, and not 
that which one alone in the congregation conceives and delivers."* 
* Works, vol. i., p. 314. 



366 APPENDIX. 

This argument confutes itself by proving too much. It proves 
that all that portion of mankind who can not read can take no part 
in public prayer. It proves that when the disciples prayed for Peter 
(Acts, xii.), and lifted up their voices together in prayer after the re- 
turn of Peter and John from the council (Acts, iv.), they did not unite 
in prayer on these occasions. It concludes, moreover, as much 
against a joint hearing of the word as against joint praying. Truth 
from the pulpit can not be acquiesced in by the hearers until after 
its announcement is completed. It must be heard before it can be 
considered ; but how can it be considered, since the discourse runs 
on, and a subsequent announcement is continually calling off atten- 
tion from a previous one 1 

The truth is, that this argument rests on difficulties which are 
wholly imaginary. The supposition that the attention of the hearers 
is suspended — that they are confounded between their own devotion 
and attention to the minister, &c, is groundless. The movements 
of the human mind are quicker than this argument assumes them to 
be. The mind takes in the most of what is said, whether in prayer 
or preaching, without any measurable lapse of time. Even in ar- 
gumentative discourse, the attention of the hearers keeps pace with 
the speaker, and sometimes anticipates him. Discourse may, in- 
deed, be so ordered as to confound attention, but it need not, and 
should not be. 

2. The imperfection of extemporaneous or free prayer. It is 
often incomprehensive, omitting many things which ought to be 
in public prayer : It is often loose and inconsecutive : It is often 
full of faults as to diction : It is often delivered in a hesitating, 
stammering manner, &c, &c. In reply, we say, in the first place, 
that faults here are to be set over against faults — the faults of 
free prayer against the faults of Liturgies ; recollecting, moreover, 
this difference, that the faults of liturgical worship are, for the 
most part, inseparable from it, while the faults of free piayer may, 
perhaps, be corrected : In the second place, that advantages, too, 
are to be compared with advantages ; to lose those of free prayer 
would be to suffer a loss which were worse to the Church than all 



APPENDIX. 367 

the faults of this mode of worship many times multiplied. What 
could compensate the Church for the loss of all that benefit which 
she has received and is to receive from the exercise of the girt of 
prayer in public, on the part of holy men filled with faiih and the 
Holy Ghost, and furnished by him specifically for the performance 
of this important part of divine service 1 We add, thirdly, that if free 
prayer be imperfect, the door to perfection is open to it ; whereas 
the Liturgy must not be changed, while the need of a change in 
some things is, by many who use it, admitted and deplored. The 
character of free prayer will vary, of course, with the various gifts 
and graces of ministers, and the various measures of aid afforded 
them by the Spirit at the time of prayer, and there may, of course, 
be instances in which the faults of performance will be unusually 
great ; but not to insist that the reading of the Liturgy may vary 
with the- reader's gifts, so that, in some instances, the faults of per- 
formance may be almost equivalent to faults in the Liturgy itself, the 
absolute uniformity of liturgical worship may be more hurtful, as we 
believe it to be in fact, than all the faults which are incidental to the 
other mode, and which, we should not forget, may, to a great extent, 
be corrected by general proficiency in piety, and by suitable pains di- 
rected particularly to that end. It is inconsistent with the idea of 
free prayer to be directly studious as to either expression, or order, 
or thought at the time of offering it ; but there is a way of making 
proficiency in the exercise of this gift, and a minister who neglects 
the cultivation of it disregards the charge of the apostle (1 Tim., iv., 
15), in regard, at least, to one part of his work, and one of no inferior 
importance. 

We have not meant to say, we do not think, that the spirit of life 
and liberty in prayer can make no use of forms. In its full realiza- 
tion, it is indeed above all forms ; but in its inferior spheres it may 
sometimes serve itself of forms with great advantage ; and in such 
a Liturgy as that, for example, which is used by Episcopalians, the 
best extant, it may, occasionally at least, find itself much more in its 
proper element than in free prayer itself, as it is too often performed. 
In conclusion, let us say that while we have no desire that litur- 



3G8 APPENDIX. 

gical worship should be abolished ; while we suppose it probable that 
worship in the Christian Church, on the whole, is better than it would 
be if this mode of worship formed no part of it, we can not but lament 
that any denomination which prefers this mode should not combine 
free prayer with it, and give its ministers some degree of liberty in 
regard to it : And that, on the other hand, we greatly regret to see, 
in the denominations in which free prayer has been conscientiously 
preferred, any dissatisfaction with it on account of the faults which 
are incidental to it, and any appearance of a desire to introduce forms. 



Note K, p. 231, 
On the Use of the Catechism, 

" Declension in the Christian faith has had no more direct cause, 
no more evident symptom, than the absolute substitution of the Cat- 
echism for the Bible in the religious instruction of children : And the 
revival of Christianity in Protestant countries has, on the whole, been 
produced and characterized by the preference given to the Bible 
above the Catechism, not to the exclusion of the Catechism, but lim- 
iting it to its only reasonable use, which is to supply the reader of 
the Bible with a summary of biblical truth. "When the Bible shall 
have its place in the religious instruction of children, there must 
needs be a revision of the Catechism ; and he only will perform this 
office well who shall have taught Christianity first from the Bible : 
And we think we may guarantee that this kind of manual will then 
be conceived and prepared differently from the best of those which 
have been hitherto in use. But what is of the greatest urgency, is 
to bring those poor children to the fountain, and also to let them drink 
at it, who, until now, have had administered unto them drop by drop, 
as if it were a medical potion, the water of life, which, by its passage 
through such long and old tubes of human manufacture, has been 
rendered insipid, and has even become corrupt. 

" After it shall be discovered that many Catechisms which have been 
authorized and consecrated by long use were made in violation of 



APPENDIX. 



369 



logic and common sense, presenting the Christian doctrines in an in- 
coherent state, which destroyed their true meaning, and in a state of 
contradiction, wherein some are made to annul others ; in brief, after 
Catechisms shall have been made as good as possible, it will be no 
less necessary to remove them from the place which they have 
usurped, and to make holy Scripture the chief Catechism. But it 
does not hence follow that we are to put the Bible into the hands of 
children ; this would be neither useful nor proper. And the idea has 
hence occurred of extracting textually every thing which it i& neces- 
sary to know in order to be a Christian ; that is, to extract from the 
Bible whatever is intelligible to a child. This, in fact, is the plan on 
which this divine Book has been conceived : It is a river, we are 
told, in which an elephant may swim, and a ford which a child may 
cross without drowning. The question is not whether we shall swim 
or walk, but whether we shall get across ; and the child must cross 
as well as the adult. Now, to become a Christian, or, according to 
the expression of the Gospel, to enter into the kingdom of heaven, we 
must return to infancy — we must become a child. I admit that the 
infancy must be a voluntary one, and that it is only as such that it is 
of any value or utility ; even a child himself is not a true Christian 
until he has ceased to be a child in the proper sense of the word ; he 
must become one of choice and of reason ; but it is nevertheless true 
that, in order to become a Christian, we must accept the verities of 
the Bible in the sense and in the simplicity in which a child appre- 
hends them." — A. Vinet : Article sur VHistoire Sainte, extraite de le 
Bible, par M. Morel. 



Note L, page 339. 
Thoughts of Bengel upon the Exercise of the Ministry. 
Taken from his Life by Burk : Pamphlet published by M. Vinet in 1842. 
I. " A Pastor should be divinely assured in respect to his occupa- 
tion — that is to say, his vocation to the ministry of reconciliation, as 
well as in respect to the truths which he preaches ; he should be able 

0,2 



370 APPENDIX. 

to produce the certificate of his spiritual birth ; he should be firmly 
resolved to promote the glory of God ; to live for Christ, and to serve 
him ; to gain heaven for himself, and for many others with him. 

II. "A pastor should give himself entirely up to his work; should 
throw himself bravely into the midst of the conflict ; and, whatever 
may happen, should never allow himself to be cast down. In order 
to this, he must consider : 

1. "That the third Sunday after Trinity has never passed without 
having given occasion for joy in heaven over a sinner gained by the 
preaching of the Gospel ; and that this single grain of wheat, even 
after a long delay, is for him who gathers it a rare refreshment. 

2. "That crosses in life help us to know ourselves better, humble 
us before God, and make us pray with greater fervor for the mani- 
festation of that Spirit, before whom doubt is silent and quieted. 

3. " That those who have received, who believe, who publish the 
message of grace, have no less need than others of the patience of 
God. How long has he to wait before they produce any thing in 
conformity with his will 1 How much wisdom from him is necessary 
in order to extract any thing good from so much weakness and so 
much impurity 1 And shall they themselves be impatient 1 

4. " That it is not the pastor's fault if he be born in a disastrous 
time in which it is very difficult to do good ; in a time when injus- 
tice having trampled upon the weak, and devoured the substance of 
the poor, it is no wonder if his preaching remains without fruit ; in 
a time when authority itself, though recognizing the evil, hardly takes 
the trouble to remedy it, and sees, without dismay, the great crush- 
ing the weak. 

5. "That God (Ezek., ix., 4) set a mark upon the foreheads of all 
those who deplored the prevalence of public sins, that they might 
prevent the chastisement which was coming. 

6. "That a pastor is strengthened by what others achieve for the 
kingdom of God, when he humbly rejoices over the good which has 
been done without him. He thus makes the works of others his 
own, while he escapes the danger of self-complacency. 

7. "That even when souls are not positively gained by truly evan- 



APPENDIX. 371 

gelical preaching, they are, nevertheless, somewhat softened and 
prepared by the clear knowledge of spiritual things. H. Franeke test- 
ified, after long experience, that the parishioners of a courageous 
pastor are always in the end more tractable and gentle. 

" When God grants a richer harvest to a pastor, it does not always 
follow that this pastor is more acceptable to him than others. Sur- 
geons have various instruments : some they use daily, others very 
rarely, and only for particular cases : They do not prefer one of these 
instruments to the others. It is only the last stroke of the axe which 
fells the tree ; but if one man gives fifty strokes, another thirty, a 
last only two, who can tell which of the wood-cutters has been most 
useful, and which blow most contributed to prostrate the tree 1 It 
is thus in regard to the work which is accomplished in souls. 

III. "A pastor should be like the hen who takes her chickens un- 
der her wings, and sometimes even lets them mount upon her back. 
We can not force confidence and freedom ; charity alone can call 
them forth : Friendly intercourse often does more good than much 
reasoning and many sermons. When heated by the sun, the traveler 
spontaneously unbuttons his coat. A single pigeon that voluntarily 
enters the pigeon-house, is worth more than a great number which 
have been forced to enter. It would be well for all if the habit of 
familiarly asking questions and friendly conversation prevailed. I 
believe that this might be successful even with the unconverted. 

IV. "The pastor should not altogether avoid intercourse with the 
people of the world ; but he should guard himself against partaking 
of their sins. By bearing witness, in our familiar intercourse, to the 
same truths which we solemnly teach from the pulpit, the mind re- 
ceives more impression than it allows us to perceive. Many of the 
seeds we sow are lost, but still something remains. When it snows, 
and the ground is wet, the snow, as it falls, seems to be absorbed into 
the earth ; but, by constant falling, it forms,in the end, a white cov- 
ering : sparge, sparge, quam potes. 

V. " There is reason to be concerned about a pastor when he does 
not seek the company of true Christians. His occupation degener- 
ates by degrees into a common trade ; and there are many who ex- 



372 APPENDIX. 

ercise it for their own convenience, as men do any other trade, or who 
allow themselves to seek the good things of this world — although, 
truly, we can not cite many examples of rich pastors. Faithful souls 
are the pastor's hand ; himself is the eye ; the hand may bear, may 
push, may raise, and render itself very useful to the eye. 

VI. " Experience teaches that many souls may be savingly reached 
by preaching ; but the work of grace can be fully accomplished in 
them only by means of individual treatment ; hence great importance 
should be attached to private labors. The pastor often obtains more 
fruit from his visits than from his public preaching. He should al- 
ways show himself equally well disposed to go wherever he is called ; 
and those whose spiritual necessities draw them to him, should, by his 
hearty welcome, feel themselves encouraged to open themselves to 
him with perfect freedom : He should show pleasure in meeting 
neighbors in the house where he is visiting. 

VII. " The principal rule to be observed in the direction of souls is 
to do nothing of our own will, and every thing that we know to be 
according to the will of God. We should approach those souls of 
which we have some hope in their calmer moments. To those who 
rebel and harden their hearts we must always present the word of 
God. We must endeavor to prepare the way in an agreeable man- 
ner for the subjects of which we wish to speak, beginning with indif- 
ferent things, and gradually leading the way to replies without form- 
ally asking questions. When we have occasion to see people every 
day, it is well to wait for a favorable moment. But if occasions are 
rare, or if we should only have one opportunity, we must guard 
against suffering it to escape without bearing our witness. If such 
persons were to die suddenly, it would be a great cause of anxiety 
to the pastor that he should have neglected to testify the Gospel to 
them ; and, in a contrary case, how greatly would he rejoice in hav- 
ing been faithful ! Moreover, we should not yield too much to anx- 
iety ; it is productive of much harm. We should act in concert 
with God, not with ourselves ; so that we might afterward be able 
to say, ' I have done, God, according as thou hast commanded.' 
Then, certainly, we shall receive a divine answer in the time of 



APPENDIX. 373 

need. A single word, a look, a ray of light, may work great things 
in a soul when we have found its true point of concern, and the 
right moment. It was one day said to a man whose wife was ill, 
' You have now a sanctuary in your house.' These words sank into 
his heart, and did him much good. To be able to use happy words, 
which hit directly, is a great gift. 

VIII. " When souls are to be gained to God, we should despise 
nothing ; however few they may be, we should convince them that 
we think it of great importance to lead them to the Lord. 

IX. " Despair absolutely of no one. If we see a fault in any one, 
make it known to him, and endeavor to lead him to correct it : And, 
whether we succeed in this or not, let us endeavor to discover or to 
develop whatever good there may be in him. 

X. " I think it very important not to heap together indiscriminately 
arguments and motives, mingling the weak with the strong, to make 
up a number. They only injure one another. It is better to pro- 
duce only one decisive argument and adhere to it. 

XL " There are souls which, in proportion as we urge them and 
seek to penetrate into them, seem to offer less footing, and escape 
from us like a subtile vapor. We must wait, keep ourselves tran- 
quil, and be willing to delay some time before we see the fruits of 
our ministry. The state of passivity, of which Tauler and others 
speak, is too little known to those who so much wish to precipitate 
their own activity and that of others. Often, in such a state, more 
reflections pass through the soul in a single moment than, in other 
states, in many months ; and this advantage is much surer and more 
durable than a forced and factitious success. There are souls for 
which it is well, because of the temptations of the evil Avorld, that 
they remain until death undeveloped, or in the state of a bud, and do 
not reveal themselves and enter into the kingdom of life until at the 
moment of departure. Let those remember this, for their consola- 
tion, who are charged with the care of souls. We are to do what 
can be done kindly, freely, and with a joyful heart, and leave the rest 
to the Chief Shepherd, saying, with Moses, ' Is it, then, I that have 
begotten this people'!' 



374 APPENDIX. 

XII. " It is very necessary that the pastor should have the gift of 
discernment. Where there is a genuine life, it sustains itself. But 
when the pastor is always wishing to arrange and prepare souls, 
they allow it to be done for them, and fall into indolence. The pa- 
triarch Abraham (who lived in the fourth century of the Christian 
era) left persons to themselves after having led them on to say, ' I 
believe in God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ.' Christ him- 
self said to his disciples, ' It is expedient for you that I go away ;' 
and the eunuch of Queen Candace was left alone as soon as he had 
been baptized. If I had" a tree at which I w T as always cutting and 
digging, I do not believe it would prosper any the more on that ac- 
count. As a child just beginning to walk is never so sure to fall 
as when we exclaim to him, ' Do not fall,' so it is when we wish to 
obtain from souls by force actus reflexos (great efforts, in order to 
have a distinct knowledge of their state of grace and of their prog- 
ress in sanctification). There are souls whose whole business con- 
sists in actibus directis (free action proceeding from faith and love). 
These are those who advance best ; and if we should awkwardly 
push them forward, we should only intimidate them, or turn them 
aside. There are others, doubtless, who need to be urged ; hence 
we should ever ask and seek a discerning mind. 

XIII. " What is the essential thing in the pastorate % It is what 
is so often called in the Psalms jaschar — uprightness ; it may be 
compared to a straight line, in which there is nothing oblique, noth- 
ing double ; which avoids heights and depths, and is the road that 
leads most directly to the end. 

XIV. " Dear pastors ! let us fill our hearts with love for Christ. It 
is this love which makes us serene, courageous, active ; it makes us 
penetrate into the true state of a soul, and discovers to us the road 
in which we should lead it. We should establish closer relations 
with our parishioners, remind ourselves constantly that we have be- 
fore us men like ourselves. What do we do in times of pestilence 
or other public calamities 1 We mingle and are confounded with the 
crowd for the common welfare, without remembering the vain dis- 
tinctions of rank and talent. If we act thus toward a man, we may 



APPENDIX. 375 

hope to make him in a manner our prisoner, and to dispose of him as 
we wish. 

XV. " I would leave to each soul the particular foundation of its 
faith ; even if the premises be feeble, provided the conclusion be just, 
that is sufficient. It is as with a child who tries its first steps across 
the chamber, and holds on to its own dress ; if it advance, we freely 
allow it this imaginary help. With how much delicacy should man 
be treated ! If the cords be stretched too tight, they will relax again 
the more quickly, and the soul will incline to that side which we 
wished to make it avoid. 

XVI. " As to private meetings, it is desirable that, under the pre- 
text of public order, we should not disturb good souls in those exer- 
cises of which they have need ; and that at those hours in which 
others assemble to amuse themselves, it should be allowed to them 
to assemble for their edification. I see here, also, a swarm from the 
parent hive — a good swarm, which we must shelter with care, in- 
stead of allowing it to go astray. 

XVII. " I can not understand the desire to forbid meetings. Should 
we, then, require every one to be pious for himself alone 1 It is as if, 
seeing some persons setting out together on a journey, I should rec- 
ommend them not to walk in company, but to keep themselves a 
gunshot apart. 

XVIII. " Disease supposes life : Wherever a spiritual malady is 
found, there must be also spiritual life. The ungodly are perfectly 
dead. Why should the pastor reject or treat severely children of 
God because there is something in them to reprove 1 Should we 
not rather take means to join ourselves with them, and to offer them 
the remedy which they need 1 

XIX. " There are persons who value meetings too highly, and who 
appear to think themselves better because they take part in the 
exercises. But neither are they the only pious ones, nor are even 
all of them pious. There are excellent souls who do not go to meet- 
ings ; and in meetings, as elsewhere, there are some hypocrites. The 
same man does not take the same view as a spectator and as a judge. 
Destroy not the work of God. Do we not allow each one to pursue 



376 APPENDIX. 

his own course in ordinary life 1 We should be more indulgent in 
little things, that we may have the more right to insist upon the 
great things. We should not be too ready to comfort those who are 
despised by the world because of their frequent attendance on meet- 
ings ; this contempt may be good and salutary for them. If my serv- 
ants were coarse and rude to my daughters, I should at first say 
nothing, for these servants may spare me somewhat of paternal dis- 
cipline. 

XX. " In these times there is so much lukewarmness, that it is not 
possible to establish between the pastor and his flock that mutual 
acquaintance and that intimacy which can only exist in a church of 
which all the members are converted : This favorable moment has 
not yet come. Many things are needed in order to create a true 
community : There should be experience and much knowledge. A 
community should have the spirit of discernment, and members ca- 
pable of leading others ; otherwise it would seem that we were met 
together only to trouble each other. Let us take care that brotherly 
love does not become a farce: Alas! this is veiy common; we are 
hypocritical toward each other ; we seek to please each other ; we neg- 
lect reproof, admonition, the encouragement of charity. There are 
people who, having neither humility nor charity, nothing of the spirit 
of Christ, are yet distinguished by their zeal in forming associations 
and meetings : Is not this playing a farce 1 In a community of broth- 
ers there must be communion of prayers, and laws to which all are 
subject, without, however, binding the individual to time and form ; 
for the tighter the knot is drawn, the nearer it is to breaking. There 
are persons who continue because they have begun, and in order not 
to draw upon themselves the reproach of inconstancy. The more 
spiritual exercises and intimacies increase, the more we should guard 
against the spirit of imitation. What should we think of two travel- 
ers, each of whom had his own road, and was even required to make 
that road for himself, if one should constantly tread in the footprints 
of the other 1 Can they not walk near enough to each other, and 
yet follow each his own road 1 We should not force each other, but 
all together should be impelled by the inspiration of the Lord. But 



APPENDIX. 377 

there are undoubtedly persons who constantly withdraw from the 
presence of the Lord, and fall into their own ways. These people 
continually become more and more cold and idle in their Christianity ; 
they need incessantly to be followed, and allowed no repose. He who 
does not truly believe can not maintain himself, and must backslide. 

XXI. " Let him who can not prevent reigning sins groan much on 
their account before God, and render from time to time a serious 
and calm testimony against them, and not be disturbed whether he 
be listened to or not : The pastor should take example from certain 
persons who protest against the violation of their rights, although they 
know very well that their protestation will be useless ; he should 
continue to bear witness to the truth, even when the people do not 
seem to attend to it ; something of it will always return to him in 
time, and meanwhile he will have satisfied his conscience : A river 
continues to flow, whether we draw water from it or whether we 
throw a stone into it. 

XXII. " As to what is evidently contrary to the law of God, the 
preacher should show the evil of it with all the seriousness and 
clearness which are necessary, in order to be understood by every 
one. He should not let himself be deterred by the fear of men. 
Besides, the world will allow bitter truths to be spoken to it. It is 
true that the grief and humiliation caused by reproaches often turn 
into anger ; but afterward we are ashamed of our anger, we come to 
ourselves and recognize the truth. Undoubtedly, all reproof should 
be made with prudence, and in order to this : 

1. " We should guard against evidently useless enterprises ; our 
credit depends upon this : After great fighting with the air, the finest 
triumphs do not regain us the good opinion of men. 

2. "We should not cherish as a personal offense the irritation 
caused by truth. All that touches us only should glide over us. 

3. " We should try to seize the right moment ; nothing irritates 
more than a stroke which has missed its mark ; though we do not 
feel its effect, we recognize the intention, and know that it was 
meant for violence. 

4. " When we have knowledge of a person's old sins, we should 



378 APPENDIX. 

not speak to him of them; we should wait and see if he fall into 
them again : this we should consider a flagrant offense ; but we 
should not stop at one isolated fact ; we should have regard to the 
general state of the individual. 

5. " We should show impartiality, charity, and compassion. To 
have succaeded in making a sinner feel that we do not, as men, 
place ourselves above him, is to have done much toward gaining his 
heart. 

6. " We should show as much mildness as possible in our exhort- 
ations. A golden no is often better received than a brutal yes. 

7. " We should not treat all men indiscriminately as flagrant sin- 
ners ; it would be the way to teach others a secret phariseeism ; 
each one being able to say to himself, ' I have not yet gone so far ; 
I, however, have better views ; my conduct is not so bad,' etc. 

XXIII. " In respect to the things which may be ranged among the 
Adiaphora, as the play, the dance, etc., it often happens that we ex- 
aggerate and stretch the cord too tight. We should not judge oth- 
ers according to ourselves ; we can not give them our eyes, nor our 
manner of seeing. People have often been brought up in such a 
way that their heart is like leather, even, indeed, like wood. If I 
had to choose between the natural gayety and the sorrow of an im- 
penitent heart, I should give the preference to the first ; it is an im- 
age, false, it is true, but an image of the happiness of God ; the oth- 
er is the opposite of it. We give the name of sins to things which 
are only a simple form of life, and which have sometimes the advant- 
age of preventing the explosions of sin, properly so called. Un- 
doubtedly, these things do not take place in heaven, but when re- 
pentance comes, it is not the remembrance of them which causes 
the most grief: This is lost in the general regret for a life of van- 
ity. The taste for worldly pleasures is the natural result of an un- 
converted state, and is quenched of itself in conversion. We should 
not, then, be too exacting ; we should not condemn the taste for the 
dance and amusements of this kind with too much bitterness and a 
too legal spirit ; we should not establish absolute rules, but refer peo- 
ple more to their own consciences, teach them to listen to these, and 



APPENDIX. 379 

induce them to avoid those things which they enjoy only with an 
internal uneasiness. Job had his children in his power ; he did not, 
however, forbid them to feast together, but he prayed for them. 
This is what we should do for our parishes most assiduously, and 
particularly in times of public rejoicing ; this never remains without 
fruit, while the law engenders wrath. 

" It does not follow, from what we have said, that we should not 
take advantage of occasions to tell our parishioners our way of think- 
ing on these subjects ; we should show them that, in carrying the 
use of their liberty to excess, without considering that by doing so 
they may fall into sin, they act like those who, walking along the 
bank of a river, constantly place their foot as near the water as pos- 
sible, while yet they endeavor to keep it always on the edge and 
never let it go in. They should take care that these vanities, these 
luxuries and follies, do not deprive them of their part in heaven, and, 
even here below, the share of happiness which this life may offer ; 
they should consider that the pleasure which they take in these 
things is a certain mark of the unregenerate state of their heart, and 
that they will see aU things with other eyes when God shall work in 
their heart by his Spirit, etc. 

" The pastor should also guard against judging all his parish from 
the noise and disorder made by certain bad characters. If, standing 
on the bank of a pond, we should hear nothing but the croaking of 
frogs, we should not imagine that there are no fish in it. 

XXIV. "Not only in the pulpit, but in particular interviews, and 
whenever the occasion for doing so presents itself naturally, should 
the pastor insist upon the duty of renouncing the world ; but he should 
not think himself obliged to correct, at one stroke, all the evil with 
which he may meet. Let him be directed, in this respect, by the 
inspirations of the Spirit of God : At one time we may keep silence, 
and groan before God ; at another we may feel an internal impulse, 
which gives us the power and liberty to communicate the like to 
those with whom we have to do. If we feel ourselves pressed to 
exhort and to reprove, we should do very wrong not to do so imme- 
diately and directly, and not adjourn the discharge of this duty to 



380 APPENDIX. 

some holiday, some visit of compliment or condolence ; we should 
also do very wrong in taking a circuitous way to arrive at our end. 
If we reprove, let it be done directly, without artifice, with a cordial 
frankness: Let us not be cunning ; experience has proved that this 
method closes hearts instead of opening them. 

XXV. "We owe respect to a parish, and we shall be wanting in 
respect if we do not set it the example of an exact observance of 
laws, which, moreover, is the most persuasive way of preaching or- 
der and regularity. Even in external matters which concern the 
Church, we must show accuracy, regularity, and precision. From 
want of exactitude in our manner, our hearers would too readily con- 
clude that our doctrine also was inexact. How can they believe that 
we have fixed principles in our instruction if we have them not in our 
functions 1 We do not mean, however, that, in preaching, respect 
for forms should hinder as from subjoining, after having said amen, 
this or that good thing which may come to our mind. In the case 
of Macarius, we find that often a homily was interrupted by some 
question from an auditor, and that he would reply to it, even when 
it had but little connection with the subject. I should like to see 
this simplicity still prevailing in our worship. 

XXVI. " From the nature of my functions, I have not been often 
called to the sick and the dying ; but the little experience that I have 
in this part of the ministry authorizes me in affirming what follows : 

"It is by prayer that the pastor will most surely obtain spiritual 
wisdom, a tender compassion for the sick, and a precise view of what 
he should do. Let him read, or take for his subject what is best rel- 
ished by the sick man, and let him apply it to his particular case, 
without asking him at first if he has always depended much upon 
these truths : It is better to lead him on gradually to a free confes- 
sion. Much is gained when the sick man comes of his own accord 
to compare his present experience with his former ways. Where 
hypocrisy is not manifest, it is not prudent to overturn every thing, 
and to make the soul think that we take no account of any of the 
movements which grace has wrought in it, and of which it has still 
the remembrance. Let us rather seize the feeblest footing that it 



APPENDIX. 381 

may offer us, in order to raise it up : Increasing light always leads to 
a more complete recognition of the defects and the darkness of the 
past. In this manner we acquire more facility in leading the sick 
man on to those individual applications which have so much import- 
ance. In the case of very notorious sinners — of ravishers and vo- 
luptuaries, for example — there is often despair ; and we are obliged 
to begin by showing them that, though their case is a serious one, 
there is still ground of hope. This despair sometimes induces them 
to say, " I am lost ; I belong to the devil," which gives us occasion 
to make them consider their state of sin in general and in detail, 
and also to lead them to the free grace of God : According as it may 
seem to us most suitable, we should dwell more on one point than 
another — on repentance, or on faith, or on devotion to the will of God. 
We must beware of saying too much. In visiting very sick persons, 
we may have two opposite experiences : there are some who find 
that the pastor's visit does them good, and is agreeable to them ; 
others are wearied by it : we should study different cases with care, 
and conform ourselves to the necessities of the sick man ; know 
when it is best to be silent, and when to speak. If the sick man 
shows himself inaccessible when we wish to make him confess his 
state of sin, we must anticipate him by prayer, and put into his mouth 
what we wished him to have spoken of himself. A man willingly al- 
lows himself to be accused when he is placed face to face with God 
by prayer ; it is not so easy to induce him to relate his sins before 
men, particularly when there are all sorts of persons present to hear 
him. 

" There are sick persons, particularly among the old, who consider 
suffragans and young pastors as people of very good intention, un- 
doubtedly, but who have too little experience of life to know that the 
evangelical law is not always to be taken according to the letter. 
We should strive to remove this prejudice by turning away their at- 
tention from the instrument, and fixing it upon immutable and eter- 
nal truth. It is well to make them understand that our only concern 
with them is the salvation of their souls, since we have nothing to 
gain by preaching to them in one way rather than in another. 



382 APPENDIX. 

In private communions especially, we have a good opportunity for 
unfolding all the treasures of the love of Christ. But we must 
strongly oppose the opus operatum mistake, which attributes merit 
to external works, and particularly to the external participation in 
the sacrament : we must combat this, whether we address ourselves 
to the past, the present, or the future ; and before, during, and after 
the communion, insist upon the sick man's seeking his peace no- 
where but m the grace of God in Jesus Christ. 

" The pastor should strive, as much as possible, to lose no opportu- 
nity of doing good. He should accordingly address those who may be 
present before or after death, and make them well understand that 
his exhortation, however strong it may be, can not save the sick 
man independently of the state of his own heart ; that it is not enough 
to acquiesce generally in what is said to him, if he do not agree with 
it in the inward feelings and desires of his heart : Many souls do not 
experience this spiritual hunger ; probably many die impenitent. This, 
however, should not be applied to those who pray and lend their ear 
to the word of God. The baptism for the dead, or over the dead, of 
which St. Paul speaks, should be understood, if I mistake not, as re- 
ferring to conversions to Christianity shortly before death. " To 
pluck out of the fire" is the action of recovering a soul which is in 
the most imminent danger, and with which we are obliged to use 
the most violent means, since we should only waste time in mild 
and tranquil representations. The words of Jesus, "There are few 
chosen," instead of discouraging the pastor, should redouble his zeal 
and earnestness. I believe, nevertheless, that death-bed conversions 
are rare. Either the sick man has had more grace in him than he has 
allowed to be seen, and the last moment brings to light this hidden 
grace, or else he leaves this world in the temper in which he has al- 
ways been. It should, however, be observed, that there are poor 
people who, from want of culture, can not express that which is in 
them. God loves to reveal such souls upon their death-bed ; he does 
not allow his children to depart entirely incognito. 

" The impenitent who would put off conversion to the last moment 
should be admonished that at death one can not be sure of rendering 



APPENDIX. 383 

a free and honest testimony ; for if, at this last moment, he interro- 
gate his conscience, it is very probable it will answer, " Thou wouldst 
not have done this hadst thou been well." 

" We sometimes find persons who are constantly mourning, with- 
out being able to say why ; we should not be scandalized at their 
not being able to express what they feel ; we must let them weep, 
and exhort them to pour out their heart before God, through Jesus 
Christ ; he will hear and understand them. 

" We should remember also, by the bed of the dying, that there are 
some who are disturbed by the want of pardon from an offended per- 
son, and should procure for them this word of reconciliation, after 
which they may die in peace. 

XXVII. " We add to these rules of Bengel for the visitation of the 
sick a few of his own words, addressed to the sick. 

1. "He said to a man whose state was desperate, 'Dear friend, 
penetrate into the love and the light of God ; know how to use the 
privilege which Jesus Christ, the well-beloved, acquired for the rebell- 
ious children of his Father ; let the spirit of grace be mighty in your 
weakness ; and let it draw from you those sighs which bear our 
souls even into eternity, where we are called to be with that great 
Forerunner who has entered thither for us, and for all those who have 
followed the right road. I recommend you to God : let us pray for 
one another.' 

2. " Mademoiselle de St. , ill of a consumption, showed him 

her emaciated arms, and complained that God had not yet called her 
away. Bengel replied to her : ' You are like one of my pupils, who 
wished, at vacation, to go away before the time ; he was obliged to 
stay until the last lesson. You believe that you have nothing more 
to do here below ; but you may be sure that it is, to a Christian, a 
good preparation for eternity, when, having packed away every thing, 
and thinking himself ready to depart, he is still obliged to wait for 
the signal of his Master. By patiently submitting yourself, you ren- 
der to God a sacrifice acceptable to him.' 

3. " Bengel was present with several other Christian friends at 
the bed of the pastor Grammich, to whom, at his request, this song 
was sung : 



384 APPENDIX. 

4 Cendre, froide et muette, 
Dans ta sombre retraite 
Dors en paix, jusqu'au jour 
Ou le Seigneur qui t'aime 
T'emportera lui-meme, 
Vivante et rajeunie, au bienheureux sejour.' 

Bengel repeated to the sick man each of the most touching expres- 
sions of this song. Then he spoke to him of the glory of the city of 
God, ' which must indeed be beautiful,' said he, ' since it is written, 
God is not ashamed to be called their God ; for he hath prepared for them 
a city.'' Then the sick man, impressed with the majesty of God, felt 
himself profoundly humiliated by his own misery. He groaned, he 
tossed himself in his bed, and confessed his sins. Bengel said to 
him : ' It is indeed necessary that the servant ask pardon.' The 
sick man did so, with many tears; then Bengel continued: 'If we 
confess our faults and our misery, God will not reckon with us ; he 
acts royally ; he remits to us ten thousand talents at a time.' Final- 
ly, the sick man recovered his serenity, and kept it to the end. When 
they took leave of one another, each placed his hand upon the other's 
head, and they blessed each other abundantly. 

4. "In regard to a person attacked with a mental malady : ' I like 
very well,' said he, ' to listen to these persons ; they often retain 
something of what is said to them ; and then here is a great advant- 
age for studying human nature. But when the melancholy is so 
great that the sick man opens neither his mouth nor his heart, I 
beseech and advise him to repeat my words aloud : There is a great 
power in the voice.' 

XXVIII. " As to disputes between husband and wife, we 

must show them how much advantage they give to the devil when 

they cease to combat him in order to oppose each other As 

a general rule, the pastor will sometimes do well to undertake the 
particular treatment of a divided household, and conduct it in a 
studied manner, as in the case of a cure to be accomplished. We 
can not efface a large spot by lightly rubbing it once. Formerly, 
much more was written on particular sins ; now we are content to 



APPENDIX. 385 

lay the foundation, believing that the rest will come of itself. We 
forget that very often we may uproot a whole tree by drawing it only 
by a single branch. There are souls with whom all would be in or- 
der if one sin were removed. Do not be wearied, then, pastors, in 
distributing the Word abundantly. That atheism, which is always 
spreading itself more and more in society, and which consists less in 
the gross impiety of certain persons than in a general negligence of 
all serious thought concerning the living God, is combated with suc- 
cess only by an assiduous, minute, and complete exposition of the 
divine trutb. 

XXIX. " When we endeavor to excite the rich to benevolence, it 
is desirable, also, to take occasion to remind the poor of the duty of 
justice and fidelity ; else the poor and the rich will complete our 
words greatly to their detriment in reproaching each other bitterly 
with their mutual wrongs. Would it not be better to lead both to 
seek the Lord together, and to induce those who have too much to 
give to those who have not enough 1 Perhaps it is because we are 
contented with preaching to the rich that they seek, in the conduct 
of the poor, pretexts for not succoring them. 

XXX. " The pastor should give the greatest care to the first of 
his parish, I mean the children ; and to the last, that is, to the dying. 
To the first, because it is from them that the most fruit may be ex- 
pected ; and to the last, because he has but a very short time to ac- 
quit himself of his ministry toward them. 

XXXI. " The communion administered to persons so differently 
disposed must necessarily give much anxiety to a conscientious 
pastor. If I be asked whether it would not be better not to give the 
communion than to give the body of our Lord to all indiscriminately, 
I reply, that there is a difference to be made between the defense of 
the truth in theory and the defense of truth in practice ! The first is 
more or less independent of the variations of the worldly scene, and 
is accomplished, more or less, in spite of all circumstances. The 
second is more difficult from its nature, and has, in every age, been 
subject to abuse. 

" When a pastor seriously doubts whether a person who presents 



386 APPENDIX. 

himself at the sacred table be worthy to commune, he should, before 
the communion day, speak in private to this person, explain to him 
the gravity and the responsibility of the action which he undertakes, 
and then let him act according to his will. Let the palisade be 
raised before the door of the temple, not around the altar. The 
pastor must be able to dispense the Lord's Supper with fullness of 
joy, as if he were communicating to all his sheep all the virtue of 
the blood of Christ — as if he felt himself strong enough, with these 
sacred pledges of mercy, to raise all the souls at once to heaven. 

" The holy communion is a means of conversion for many ; the 
officials should then, according to the knowledge which they have of 
the situation of the communicant, address to him the words of the in- 
stitution, with all the gravity and emphasis which may be necessary, 
in order to make a proper impression upon him. But I can not approve 
of placing the utility of the communion in its being the means of con- 
version — a doctrine, properly so called, for this precisely is not its end. 

XXXII. " The doctrine of the efficacy of prayer and of the internal 
word is very important ; but without great prudence in the manner 
of teaching and applying it, we run the risk of falling into the deceit 
of the heart, and of tempting God. The words of St. John, ' They 
shall all be taught of God' (vi., 45 ; Heb., viii.), should not be taken 
in the sense that no one needs the instruction of another. If it were 
so, why should the apostles have taught 1 These words' indicate the 
pre-eminence of the New Testament over the Old. In the former, 
God was obliged to use force with the Israelites ; the New is char- 
acterized by a spirit of liberty which opens the mind. When a man 
receives the spirit promised in the New Testament, all becomes 
easier to his comprehension, and he acquires a facility in spiritual 
things which others only acquire by long studies. The passage in 
1 John, ii., 27, is applicable to false doctrine, with which the Chris- 
tian need not be made acquainted. To know whether certain souls 
may be aroused without the intervention of the evangelical ministry, 
or whether the entire Church can be sustained and perpetuated with- 
out it, are two different questions. 

XXXIII. " The mystics date from the fourth or fifth century. The 



APPENDIX. 387 

Aristotelian philosophy, and afterward the scholasticism which was 
derived from it, being cultivated with ardor, sincere persons, in or- 
der to escape the disputes of the school, withdrew into themselves. 
Each mystic had a certain ray of light, but that was all. He under- 
stood nothing of the economy of God, nor of his ways in general. 
These men were wrapped up in themselves, and were no longer any 
thing to society. They lived in times of obscurity ; they were hap- 
py themselves, but contributed nothing to the happiness of others. 
While the scholastics attached value to nothing but speculation and 
reasonings, they, as well as the Platonists, valued only sentiment, 
and a blind and silent disposition of the heart. The mystics must, 
however, confess that what they have of good they could have found 
nowhere but in the pale of the Church. 

XXXIV. " It is suitable for a country pastor to pursue, together 
with his pastoral labors, some particular studies relating to the min- 
istry, in order not to fall back always upon himself; he should know 
what is passing elsewhere in the kingdom of God, so as to be, in time 
of need, encouraged, aroused, humbled, and instructed." 

The Thoughts of Bengel on the Exercise of the Ministry, translated 
by M. Vinet, have appeared in the Life of Bengel, by Btjrk, under the 
title of Pastoral Grundsaetze (Part ii., chap, ii., art. 2). M. Vinet has 
omitted, in his translation, the sections III., IV., XII., XIX., XXIV., 
XXXVIL, XXXVIIL, XLL, XLIL, and XLIV., of the German work, 
although he refers to the three last in the Notes of his Pastoral The- 
ology. The references to the retained paragraphs, corresponding to 
the divisions of Burk, we have thought it our duty to indicate here 
only because of the omissions. Section XXVII. of the original work 
corresponds to section XXII. of the translation ; section XXX. to 
section XXV. ; section XXXIII. to section XXVIII. ; and section 
XXXVI. to section XXXI. The parts omitted relate chiefly to local 
usages, or to questions which are now no longer discussed, as they 
were in the time of Bengel, who was born in 1687, and died in 1752. 
— Edit. 

THE END. 






ERRATA. 

Page iii, line 4 from top, after " terre," insert "ni lui etre." 
Page 30, line 2 from bottom, read "Vulliemin" for " Villemain." 
Page 47, line 15 from top, read " t" for "i," twice. 
Page 69, line 3 from bottom, read "Treizieme" for "Troizieme." 
Page 114, line 12 from top, insert quotation marks after " solitude." 
Page 123, line 15 from top, read " to say" for "now said." 
Page 131, line 11 from top, leave out "of man." 
Page 138, for the first sentence on this page, substitute the follow- 
ing: "It is not well to be always studying effect; on the contrary, 
this should never be done : besides, if gravity come from within, it 
will be spontaneous." 

Page 141, line 6 from top, insert a comma after " all." 

Page 172, line 11 from top, insert quotation marks after "means." 

Page 173, line 11 from bottom, put a colon instead of a period after 
1 9 » 

Page 186, line 10 from bottom, dele the point after "presented." 
Page 190, line 11 from top, dele the comma after "idea ;" and in 
the next line, dele " not" after " can." 

Page 193, line 2 from bottom, dele quotation marks after " faith." 
Page 197, line 13 from top, insert "and a half" after "ten;" and 
for "four" read "five." 

Page 207, line 1 at top, insert "Authority" after "Familiarity." 
Page 211, line 7 from bottom, for "rebels" read "provokes." 
Page 224, line 16 from top, read "that" instead of "lest." 
Page 231, line 6 from bottom, read "presented" instead of "pre- 
scribed." 
Page 233, line 18 from top, insert quotation marks after " myself." 
Page 250, 1 at top, read "lissima" instead of "lessima." 
Page 260, line 3 from bottom, read "only" instead of "not." 
Page 272, line 2 from top, dele parentheses from " souls." 
Page 273, line 9 from top, for " used" read " use." 
Page 279, line 8 from bottom, insert a comma after " also." 
Page 297, lines 5 and 6 from top, for "them" read " it." 
Page 298, line 3 from top, for "measure" read "maxim;" and 
lines 4 and 5, instead of " exemplified," &c, read " appropriated by 
the pastor to each individual." 
Page 369, line 8 from bottom, read " la" instead of " le." 
Page 371, line 2 from top, for " Franeke" read "Francke." 
Page 375, line 6 from top, for " dress" read " frock." 
Page 385, line 9 from top, omit " the." 



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6 Works in Theological Liter atuie 



o 



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0" v 



